Denmark sees record precipitation for 2023

Inhabitants help fill and transport sandbags to secure the harbor against the storm Pia in Niva, north of Copenhagen, Denmark, on December 20, 2023. – The water level in the harbor is expected to rise by 1.5 meters. (Photo by Keld Navntoft / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)

COPENHAGEN, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – A record amount of precipitation fell in Denmark in 2023, meteorologists said Wednesday, noting that more increases could be expected as a result of climate change.

The annual tally of snow and rainfall as of Wednesday was over 907 millimeters (35.7 inches), national meteorological institute DMI said with over a week left in the year.

The previous record since measurements started in 1874 was 905 mm, a level reached in 1999 and 2019.

On average, the Scandinavian country sees around 760 mm of precipitation annually, but this could increase.

“The warming from anthropogenic climate change gradually also leads to increased precipitation in Denmark,” Rasmus Anker Pedersen, a climate scientist at DMI, told AFP.

According to Pedersen, by the end of the century, annual precipitation is expected to increase by seven percent.

“The change is not uniform over the year — we do not expect a substantial change in the summer precipitation amounts, while the winter precipitation will increase by 12 percent.