Last week, Lithuania experienced the first serious heat wave of this summer season. According to experts, temperatures rising above 30 degrees in Lithuania is no longer surprising and has become the new summer norm.
Gytis Valaika, a meteorologist at the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service, says that people should get used to the heat, as 30 degrees is becoming the norm for today’s climate.
“Nowadays, we are all used to the idea that 30 degrees is the norm, but in reality, it is not very normal,” he told LRT.lt.
According to Justinas Kilpys, a lecturer at Vilnius University’s (VU) Department of Hydrology and Climatology, 30-degree heat was not an annual occurrence before the 2000s, as it used to warm up to such temperatures only every two or three years.
“But since 2004, it has been happening every year. We’ve been experiencing 30-degree temperatures every year for 20 years. It used to be a rarer event,” he said.
He pointed out that climate change is increasing not only the number of hot days but also of tropical nights when temperatures do not fall below 20 degrees.
“If mankind does not reduce atmospheric pollution, these heat waves will only increase in the future,” Kilpys warned.
Temperature records
In April, a joint study by the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation and the European Environment Agency concluded that the temperatures in Europe are now 2.3 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.
According to Valaika, Lithuania is no exception. In the first half of 2024, the country broke 10 temperature records for a specific day.
“We are not exceptional because all climatologists repeat the mantra that climate change is global. It makes no difference whether it is one country or another, we are all affected by this phenomenon,” the meteorologist said.
Lithuania’s average temperature is measured every 30 years. Comparing 1961, 1991, and 2020, the temperature has warmed by 1.4 degrees in the country.
“It may not seem like much, but you have to bear in mind that when you have an average temperature, one degree is already a lot,” Valaika explained. “In terms of months, all months are warmer, especially the winter months, but summer is changing too. Whichever way you look at it, there is a change, and it is definitely getting warmer.”
But it is hard to imagine that temperatures could rise to 40 degrees in Lithuania, according to Kilpys, a lecturer at the VU.
“I don’t think we will reach 40 degrees in Lithuania in the 21st century. But it is not the number itself that matters, but the number of consecutive hot days. Studies in Lithuania show the same thing as around the world – when heat lasts for three days, health problems start to increase and mortality rises,” he explained.
Need for green areas
Extreme heat is harder for people living in cities, as concrete and asphalt heat up more and faster. According to Kilpys, cities should therefore focus on developing green areas.
“Green spaces are a great help in bringing temperatures down. Green zones don’t necessarily mean trees but also grassland with taller vegetation. This already helps to lower the temperature compared to asphalt and concrete,” he said.
Some major European cities are creating so-called cooling zones, which are made up of public buildings with air conditioning.
“They should be open to the public during heatwaves and even at night. For example, people can come to the library because it is air-conditioned and spend the hottest part of the day there,” Kilpys noted.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
