Record September temperatures in many European countries

(Patria) - Austria, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland have reported their hottest September on record, in a year expected to be the warmest in human history as climate change accelerates, AFP reported.

The unusually warm weather in Europe follows the EU's climate monitor saying earlier this month that Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures were the hottest on record.

French meteorological agency Meteo-France said the average temperature in September in the country would be around 21.5 degrees Celsius, between 3.5 and 3.6 degrees above the 1991-2020 reference period. Average temperatures in France have consistently exceeded monthly norms for almost two years.

In Germany, the DWD meteorological office said the month was the warmest September since national records began, nearly 4 degrees above the 1961-1990 baseline.

The Polish meteorological institute announced that September temperatures were 3.6C above average and the warmest for the month since records began over 100 years ago. National meteorological bodies in Austria and Switzerland also recorded their warmest average September temperatures, a day after a study revealed Swiss glaciers had lost 10 percent of their volume in two years due to extreme warming.

Spanish and Portuguese national meteorological institutes have warned of abnormally warm temperatures this weekend, with mercury in parts of southern Spain set to exceed 35 degrees Celsius.