Essen (dpa / lnw) – The weather year 2022 was too warm in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to preliminary figures from the German Weather Service (DWD) on Friday, the average temperature was 11.2 degrees, well above the previous year 2021 (9.7) and the long-term average (reference value) of 9.0 degrees. The DWD therefore speaks in its message of record heat.
The sun also shone unusually often in the past year: in 2022 there were 1984 hours of sunshine in NRW after 1440 in the same period of the previous year. The month of March was particularly noticeable here. The second half of May saw the first hot days of the year, followed by a shockingly dry summer and an unusually warm autumn, according to the DWD. There was a minus in the measured amount of rain in NRW. Annual precipitation fell from 875 to 737 liters per square meter. However, the year 2021 was marked by heavy rain in July with the devastating flood disaster in parts of the country.
In December there was freezing cold in the middle of the month. Nevertheless, NRW makes it to place 2 of the warmest regions in Germany after Saarland. According to the DWD, the spring-like air in the last third of the month was more dominant. Records could tumble on New Year’s Eve. The average temperature at the end of the year was 2.9 degrees and thus significantly higher than in the previous year (2.3). Only in the small Saarland was it warmer with 3.2 degrees in December.
