This year’s winter, with an average temperature of 2.8°C, has placed itself among the 13 percent warmest winters recorded in Prague’s Klementinum since 1775. According to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), the deviation from the long-term average was +2.4°C.
Meteorologists define the winter period as December, January, and February. This year’s winter ranked 30th to 32nd warmest out of 250 winters recorded at Klementinum. The coldest winter in Prague’s records dates back to 1829, with an average temperature of just -6.1°C, while the winter of 1928/1929 shares fourth to sixth place with an average of -5.4°C.
“Among winters that many readers might remember, the 2010/11 season was slightly colder with an average temperature of 0.0°C. It was the last winter when the average temperature wasn’t above zero,” meteorologists noted. The last winter when Klementinum’s average temperature fell below freezing point was in 2005/06, recording -0.3°C.
For context, this February had an average temperature of 2°C at Klementinum. Compared to the long-term average since 1774, this was 1.3°C higher. However, when measured against the current reference period of 1991-2020, February’s temperatures were considered normal.
As Prague transitions into spring, this data continues the concerning trend of warming winters across Central Europe, with temperatures that would have been considered unusual just decades ago now becoming increasingly common.