Regional Information: Heat islands
Related matters in other countries
Urban heat islands – a comparison
The urban heat island effect refers to the higher temperatures in the city with comparatively less cooling at night. This occurs due to the high proportion of sealed surfaces, dense building development and limited green spaces and vegetation. Therefore, heat waves are a major problem, especially for cities (see also: heat islands).
Where can we find the warmest regions and urban heat islands in different countries? We present the heat spots of some countries here.
Tip: Compare the listed examples with your students and let them make a connection to their own region and cities in the region. Have the temperatures in your hometown or region changed in the last decades? Have the students do some research.
AUSTRIA
In Austria, the hottest temperatures are usually measured in the eastern part towards the border to Hungary and the Pannonian Plain. The warmest cities in Austria include Eisenstadt and Vienna. Together with Graz, these cities also record the most summer days and tropical days. Summer days are days on which the maximum temperature is at least 25 degrees Celsius, and from at least 30 degrees Celsius these are considered tropical days. Thus, in 2021, more than 80 summer days and 24 tropical days were recorded in the cities of Eisenstadt, Vienna and Graz. The annual mean, which is the average temperature over the whole year, was 11.2 degrees in Eisenstadt and 11.1 degrees in Vienna, with over 12 degrees in the centre of Vienna in 2021. These two cities were thus the warmest in Austria. Incidentally, the previous hottest temperature in Austria was recorded in 2013 at 40.5 °C in the eastern part of Lower Austria (Bad Deutsch-Altenburg).
GERMANY
The hottest place question can be understood – and answered – in several ways.
On the one hand, short-term heat extremes can be observed. From this point of view, temperatures above 40°C have already been measured in Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Kitzingen, Geilenkirchen, Duisburg-Baerl, Cologne-Stammheim, Kleve and Lingen/Ems. With every hot summer, new places can be added.
On the other hand, the average temperatures of a year – or over several years – can be considered. The highest average temperature in 2021 was determined at 11.4°C in Cologne-Stammheim – that was 2.3°C more than the national average in the same year.
Further sources
- https://home.meinestadt.de/deutschland/magazin/wissenswertes-ueber-deutschland/rankings/hitzerekorde-in-deutschland
- https://www.morgenpost.de/vermischtes/article235869213/hitze-rekorde-sommer-heisseste-orte-deutschland.html
- https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1070875/umfrage/waermste-orte-in-deutschland-nach-durchschnittstemperatur/
SPAIN
The distribution of temperature in Spain is very irregular, due to its varied topography and geographical location. The average temperature in Spain in 2021 was 14.2ºC, with fluctuations between 0ºC and 22ºC. The former is recorded in the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian and Iberian mountain ranges and in Sierra Nevada, while the latter occur in the extreme south of the country, on the coasts of the eastern Canary Islands.
July and August are the warmest months of the year while January is the coldest. The average temperatures in July exceed 25ºC throughout the territory except in the Cantabrian coast, which are lower, as a result of the moderating influence of the sea and the breezes, and in the higher altitudes of the main mountain ranges.
The municipality of Montoro (Córdoba) holds the temperature record in Spain, with 47.4 °C on August 14, 2021 (source: Aemet). However, the city with the highest average annual temperature is Seville with 19.2 °C, as well as the highest average in summer, 28.2 °C in July. In turn, it stands out that Euskadi registered in June 2022 the maximum temperature record in Hondarribia (Gipuzkoa), with 42.7 degrees.
Sources:
http://atlasnacional.ign.es/wane/Clima
https://www.aemet.es/en/noticias/2022/01/2021_resumen_climatico
Country specific information
