August 2020 ranks among Prague’s warmest in history, but broke no records

August 2020 was among the warmest August in Prague’s history, based on measurements from the Klementinum published by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ). But the summer overall ranked as average among recent years.

“This August has been ranked eighth out of 246 to date since 1775, making it one of the 5% warmest August in the last 246 years,” ČHMÚ meteorologist Pavel Jůza said.

The average monthly temperature of 22.1 degrees Celsius was 1.8 degrees higher than the average from 1981 to 2010. Compared to the average from 1961 to ’90, it was 3.0 degrees warmer. This was similar to the deviation from long-term average from 1775 to 2014, where this August was 2.9 degrees warmer.

Summer 2020, defined by meteorologists as June1to August 31, had an average temperature of 21.1 degrees, making it 1.1 degrees higher than the normal from 1981 to 2010. The deviation from the “old normal” 1961–90and long-term average from 1775 to 2014 were both 2.1 degreeswarmer.

“Summer 2020 ranked 13th to 15th in 246 years when data are available. This summer has thus ranked among the 7% warmest years since 1775. For the last 10 years, however, this summer has been among the average,” ČHMÚ’s Jůza said.

The warmest August since 1775 was 1807, with an average temperature of 25.2 degrees, while the second warmest August was in 2015 with an average temperature of 24.4 degrees. August 2018 was third with an average temperature of 23.7 degrees, while August 2003 was fourth with an average temperature of 23.2 degrees.

The coldest August since 1775 was in 1833 with an average temperature of 15.8 degrees, and the second coldest was August 1844 with an average temperature of 15.9 degrees.In third and fourth place were August 1912 and 1786 with an average temperature of 16.1 degrees. The fifth-coldest was August 1940 with an average temperature of 16.3 degrees.

The highest average daily temperature was measured in the Klementinum on August 9 and 13, both with 26.9 degrees. The coldest was August 4 with an average temperature of 16.3 degrees Celsius.

According to measurements in Prague’s Libuš, this summer was marked by a low number of extremes. There were no temperatures above 35 degrees or below 15 degrees Celsius. There have been only seven such years in the last half century, ČHMÚ said on twitter.

For June–August 2020, the average of the daily maximum temperatures at Libuš reached 25.5 degrees, while the average for the 50 years from 1971 to 2020 reached 24.1 ° C. This summer was ranked 10th out of 50 years for that station. The highest average in 50 years there was in 2019 with 27.8 degrees. In 2018 it was 27.6 degrees and 2015 was in third place with an average daily high of 27.2 degrees.

The lowest average daily maximum in summer in Libuš was in 1980, namely 21.2 degrees, in 1978 it was 21.6 degrees, in 1984 it was 21.8 degrees, in 1987 it was 21.9 degrees, and in 1974 the average daily maximum reached 22.0 degrees.

Regular meteorological measurements at the Klementinum began in 1752. However, records are incomplete until 1774, so 1775 is therefore considered to be the beginning of the record keeping for Prague weather. Data have been completely without gaps since the beginning of 1784.