Austria has officially broken its national temperature record, with 40.8°C recorded at the Vienna-Stammersdorf station. The meteorological service GeoSphere Austrian published the news on Tuesday, placing the previous maximum of 40.5°C, set more than a decade ago, in history. The previous record was recorded on 8 August 2013 at the Bad Deutsch-Altenburg station, located in the Austrian federal state of Lower Austria.
According to available data, the value of 40.8°C was recorded at 14:40 at the Vienna station. Shortly after that moment, thermometers showed a further rise in temperature, with the temperature briefly reaching 41.0°C. Although the confirmation is still in progress, the relevant meteorological services must formally verify and confirm the measured value before it is finally entered into the official records as a new national record.
This extreme event is part of an extremely hot and dry July in Austria. During this month, heatwaves that have not been recorded in previous measurements were recorded, with a significant lack of rainfall. In some parts of the country, rainfall was 90 per cent less than usual, which led to a serious drought.
The impact of extreme weather was also felt in agriculture, where the ripening of apricots began approximately 20 days earlier than the average in the period from 1961 to 1991. In addition to July, Austria has experienced the longest heatwave ever recorded in the month of June, with records in that month exceeding previous values by 1.4°C on average.
The current situation in the country is alarming, with almost all of Austria located in the zone of a 'red' alert by meteorological services. Such extremes indicate intense climate change, which is already leaving visible traces on the Austrian landscape and agricultural production.
