This winter has so far been characterised by snow and rain, with very little direct sunlight. January was the least sunny month in the history of observations, the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service said.
Vilnius recorded an absolute record of only 5.1 hours of sunshine in January, while the previous national record of 7 hours was set in Utena in January 1986.
Records for the minimum time of direct sunlight in January this year were recorded at five meteorological stations: in Vilnius, Varėna, Utena, Dūkštas and Lazdijai.
In Vilnius, the direct sunlight lasted just 5.1 hours, compared to the previous record of 9 hours set in 1984. In Varėna, moments of direct sunlight lasted 6.1 hours – the previous record was 10.5 hours in January 2011.
According to the report, other places in the country were less cloudy, but the average duration of direct sunlight in Lithuania was only 35 percent of the January norm.
Meteorologists predict that a colder air mass will cover Lithuania over the weekend, with pressure rising, increasing the chances of seeing the sun shining at least through clouds.
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