Temperature and climate change

Air and sea temperatures have increased, and this has led to less snow and ice at the poles and in mountain regions, increased sea levels and altered precipitation patterns. When temperatures change, it may affect flora and fauna. For example, some species will disappear, and will be replaced by new species moving up from the south.

Farmers will have to adjust their crop choice, and this is already happening today: the area of maize for fodder has been increasing in Denmark over the past ten years.

Figure 1 shows that the annual mean temperature varies in Denmark across the years. The Danish Meteorological Institute, which is responsible for the measurements, has found that the average temperature for different years ranges from less than 6°C to 10°C. However, the average temperature is increasing.

If we compare the average temperatures from the earliest measurements from 1873-1900 with recent years' measurements, we see a increase from 7.2°C to 8.7°C.

Figure 1: The Danish annual temperature, 1874-2022, with 30-year climate normals indicated. (The first period is only 28 years, 1873-1900) 

Denmarks future temperature 

Figure 2 shows projections of Denmark's average temperature during the 20th century under different emmissions scenarios. The expected change at the end of the century for a high emmissions scenario is 3.4 °C. 

Figure 2: Change in average temperature from 1981-2010 for three different future periods for different emmission scenarios in Denmark. Source: DMI 

In line with the rising temperatures, extreme temperatures will also occur more frequently. A heat wave is defined in Denmark as three days in a row with a maximum temperature above 28 °C. In a warmer climate, this threshold is exceeded significantly more frequently, with an increase from an average of two heat wave days per year for the present (1981–2010) to three and nine heat wave days per year at the end of the century (2071–2100) in a low and a high emmission scenario. 

Figure 3: Future Heat Wave Days under different emmission scenarios in Denmark. Source: DMI