North and Baltic Sea winter temperatures 1.5C higher than average – maritime agency

Large parts of the North Sea experienced the warmest or second warmest winter temperatures since records began, Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) said. In the Baltic Sea, the winter of 2022-2023 was the third warmest on record. According to evaluations by the agency, average surface temperatures between December and February were 1.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term average in both seas. “The oceans becoming warmer has far-reaching consequences for the marine environment,” BSH head Helge Heegewaldt said. “This in turn influences weather and climate patterns,” he added, explaining that, for example, higher temperatures in the North Atlantic affect the course of winter in Western and Central Europe.

The significantly warmer temperatures seen in winter in both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea seamlessly continue the trend seen during the summer and autumn of 2022, BSH said. According to data by Germany’s National Meteorological Service (DWD), 2022 was the sunniest and among the warmest years in the country, and was marked by a significant lack of precipitation.