January 2021 | Hot Globally and Very Cold in Portugal
2021-02-10 (IPMA)
The month of January 2021 was classified globally as the sixth warmest January (equal to 2018) with an anomaly of +0.24 ° C in relation to the average 1991-2020. In North America, Greenland and over the Arctic Ocean, temperatures were well above average, while in Siberia they were well below average.
Europe recorded an average temperature close to the normal value, with some regions in Northern Europe (southern Norway and central Sweden) registering values below the average, while regions in the southeastern part of Europe registering above average values.
In mainland Portugal, January was classified as very cold and dry (Figure 1):
It was the 4th coldest in the last 20 years with an average air temperature of 8.02 ° C, -0.79 ° C in relation to the normal 1971-2000 (lowest value in 2006: 7.65 ° C).
The average maximum temperature was the 4th lowest since 2000 with a deviation of -0.78 ° C from the normal and the average minimum temperature was also lower than normal (- 0.81 ° C).
The first three weeks of January were extremely cold with values of maximum and minimum air temperature below the value of the 1971-2000 climatological normal.
This episode of cold weather was characterized by its prolonged character (more than 3 weeks), the persistence of several consecutive days with negative temperatures (> 10 consecutive days in 1/3 of the seasons), particularly in the north and center interior, the thermal discomfort associated with low temperatures (some days boosted by the intensity of the wind) and territorial coverage, with all these aspects having importance in the possible impacts that it will have had on the population.
At the level of the territory, January 9, 2021 was the coldest day in this period, with an average temperature of 2.98 ° C, and days 5, 6 and 8 should also be mentioned, with average values of average temperature below 4 ° C.
As of the 20th, there was a rise in temperature (above normal levels) and the prolonged cold situation that occurred in mainland Portugal ended.
The average value of the amount of precipitation in January, 90.8 mm, corresponds to 77% of the normal value 1971-2000. Until the 20th, there was no rainfall occurring in almost the entire territory. The most significant values of precipitation were verified in the period of 20 and 31 of January.
The January 2021 climate summary is available for consultation at the link below. For knowing the complete cliamatological information about this month, please wait until our climate bulletin be published and placed on the link: https://bit.ly/3p0J104
Imagens associadas
Figure 1: Surface air temperature anomaly, January 2021
Figure 2: Percentage of precipitation in relation to normal (%)
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