Warmest Autumn in Three Decades Recorded in Latvia

In the autumn of 2021, Latvia experienced an unusual climate with several records being broken and norms being defied.

The autumn started off on a warm note, with September being the warmest on record, boasting an average temperature of +16.1 degrees. This trend continued throughout the season, with October and November both being warmer than the normal averages, at +8.4 degrees and +4.2 degrees respectively. The highest air temperature this autumn was recorded on September 4 in Bauska, reaching an impressive +30.0 C.

Despite the warmth, the season was also drier than normal. October saw the lowest precipitation of the autumn with only 34.2 millimeters, while November's average rainfall was 139.2 millimeters, or 71% of the normal average. Daugavpils had the lowest precipitation in November with 78.1 millimeters. Conversely, Ainaži experienced the heaviest autumn rainfall and snow, totaling 211.7 millimeters.

The snowy season began earlier than usual, with the first snow cover of the autumn being recorded in mid-November in Latgale. Snow also formed in other parts of Latvia a few days later. In Pāvilosta, the snow depth was 16 centimeters, while in Ainaži and Rūjiena, the snow depth reached 15 centimeters. The snow melted in the last week of November.

The meteorological institution responsible for measuring temperatures and precipitation in Latvia for the last three months of 2021 is the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). The specific meteorologist's name associated with these findings is not mentioned in the available sources.

Interestingly, the beginning of October was the only period in autumn when air temperatures were below normal for several days in a row. However, in the third decade of October, air temperatures climbed 4.4 degrees above the long-term average.

Comparatively, the warmest autumns in the last 100 years were in 1934 and 2020, with average temperatures of +9.7 and +9.9 degrees respectively. This unusual autumn weather in Latvia has certainly left a lasting impression and added to the ongoing discussion about climate change.