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Guernsey has experienced its two warmest years on record in succession.
The Guernsey Met Office’s annual report confirmed that last year’s average temperature was 12.6C, with the warmest year recorded in 2022 at 12.8C.
The 30 year average from 1991 to 2020 is 11.7C.
This mirrors global trends.
The World Meteorological Organization has confirmed that 2023 was the warmest on record, with the annual average global temperature 1.45 ±0.12°C above pre-industrial levels.
There were no days when an air frost was recorded, the average is 4.5 days, while there were 18 days when the temperature of the grass fell below zero, compared to an average of 39.4.
Sea temperatures, recorded by Sea Fisheries, have also been increasing in recent years.
Eight of the last 10 years have seen sea temperatures above the long-term average.
This tallies with a recent UK Met Office report noting North Atlantic sea surface temperatures as the warmest on record.
2023 will be remembered for Storm Ciaran, which arrived on the evening of Wednesday 1 November.
A mean wind speed of 50 knots (Force 10) and maximum gust of 68 knots (Force 12) was recorded at Guernsey Airport around sunrise on Thursday.
But it was worse in Jersey, with mean wind speeds of 60+ knots and gusts exceeding 88 knots at its airport.
A tornado touched down, leaving an 8km trail of destruction through Jersey’s eastern parishes.
It has been assessed as a T6 intensity tornado, so wind speeds in the range of 161-186mph were likely.
2023 was the dullest year since 2012 and the wettest since 2020.
There was a total of 1,814.1 hours of sunshine, the 30 year average is 1,889.6.
Rainfall totalled 1,026.5mm, the average is 860.9mm.
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