AgriMeteo: 2022 the Hottest Year Ever Recorded

On Wednesday 28 December 2022, Luxembourg's Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development reported that 22 has been the hottest year ever recorded since records began in the Grand Duchy in 1838.

AgriMeteo, the national meteorological service of the Administration of Technical Services for Agriculture (ASTA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, announced that on the basis of weather data analysed up to and including 26 December, the year 2022 turns out to be the hottest year on record since 1838, tied with 2020. 2022 was also marked by a prolonged lack of rain which plunged the country into an unprecedented drought. These extremes testify to a long-standing climate change that AgriMeteo has observed in the Grand Duchy since 1838 thanks to the precise measurements of a network of 36 weather stations.

Record heat

With a record average of 10.9°C, the annual temperature is 1.0°C above the 1991-2020 reference average. Throughout the seasons, heatwaves and temperature peaks have warmed the Grand Duchy.

- Winter 2022: average temperature (3.4°C): +1.3°C,
- Spring 2022: average temperature (9.8°C), excess between +0.3 and +0.8°C,
- Historic summer 2022: average temperature 19.3°C, maximum 36°C, second hottest summer ever measured. Records of 60 summer days (over 25°C) and 20 temperature peaks (over 30°C),
- Autumn 2022: average temperature of 11.1°C, fourth warmest autumn ever measured, excess between +1.3 and +1.6°C.

Prolonged soil drought

The year 2022 is also marked by a long period of dry soil. The level of precipitation is below the climatic normal. In particular, the summer of 2022 was the driest since 1921, with July registering a rain deficit of -92% and August of -65%. Added to the heatwaves, the prolonged lack of rain hampered the proper development of agricultural crops.

By analysing the reference period 1991-2020, AgriMétéo observed a strong gradient from northwest to southeast, with a maximum annual precipitation (1022.2 mm) at Roodt, and a minimum (711.8 mm) at Remich. This shows that a differentiated climate analysis of Luxembourg cannot be done through a single weather station, but through a network of observations in the country.

Climate change in Luxembourg documented by AgriMeteo

It is clear that the acceleration of heat records and periods of drought is caused by the intensification of global warming, which the meteorological service AgriMeteo has already observed since 1838, and currently through data collected by 36 weather stations covering all the regions.

Thanks to this dense network of precise measurements, and a record observation period of 180 years, the ASTA meteorological service is equipped to put the evolution of the climate into perspective, including by differentiating the regions of Luxembourg.

AgriMeteo documents climate change through the following developments:

- Human-caused climate change increased temperatures by 1.5°C between 1861-1890 and 1991-2020.
- The 10 hottest years are all in the period 2002-2021.
- Each of the past three decades has been warmer than those before, and has been since 1840.
- The drought has increased significantly between April and November over the years.
- Between 1991 and 2020, 10 months (except December and January) present a regular risk of drought, whereas before (1961-1990), this risk was just higher in June and July.

“Without the effect of climate change, soil drought would have been around 3 to 4 times less likely, and summer heat waves less intense,” concluded Andrew Ferrone, head of the meteorological service and head of the Luxembourg delegation to the Groupe D intergovernmental experts on climate change, with reference to the analysis of the World Weather Attribution experts for Central and Western Europe.

Impact on agriculture

In Luxembourg, the development of certain agricultural crops has been more or less impacted over the 2022 seasons. Crops of winter wheat, summer cereals, potatoes and especially fodder crops such as maize as well as meadows and pastures have suffered greatly. Vegetable crops have certainly benefited from a long season, but at the cost of continuous and costly irrigation. In fruit growing, harvests were good for cherries, Mirabelles and plums, but mixed for apples and pears. The maize harvest was very early. Ditto in terms of viticulture: the historically early harvest began on 22 August, a month earlier than normal, with an excellent vintage, but quantities revised downwards.

The Ministry of Agriculture helps the sector adapt to the vagaries of climate change, through research and innovation projects, agricultural advice, pilot projects and the new agri-environmental and climate measures (AEC) of the 2023 Strategic Plan -27.