The average duration of sunshine in Lithuania was only 8.7 hours in December, less than a third of the usual amount for the month and less than any other month on record, according to the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT).
Previously, the least sunny December was in 2018 (9.9 hours). The multi-year average of direct sun in December is 29 hours.
In some places, periods of direct sunlight added up to less than three hours. In Vilnius, sunshine lasted only 2.9 hours, beating the previous record of 3.8 hours in December 2018. Residents of Varėna, southeastern Lithuania, enjoyed sunshine for only 2.4 hours throughout entire December, another record for the month.
Varėnas also set the record for the shortest period of December sunshine in the country, beating Utena (northeastern Lithuania) which enjoyed only 3 hours of sun in December 2018.
December 2023 was also the least sunny month in Lithuania on record. Previously, the record was set in January 2023, when on average Lithuanians saw 14.3 hours of sunshine (5.1 hours in Vilnius).
January, however, should be better. The Hydrometeorological Service says the coming weekend is expected to be sunny.
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