According to current forecast, Monday, 6 June, marked the start of meteorological summer in Latvia.
It began when daytime air temperature stayed no lower than +15° C for five consecutive days, and meteorological summer’s beginning is the first of these days.
On Sunday, 5 June, average air temperature reached +16° C in the centre of Riga.
It is expected that in most of the country Monday will be the first day with average air temperature above +15° C. Meteorological summer has yet to commence along part of the coast.
Last year meteorological summer in Latvia started on 2 June and concluded on 21 August. In the previous decade meteorological summer started on average on 19 June and ended on 27 August, according to information from the State Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre.
The average length of meteorological summer in Latvia in 1961-1990 was 74 days, with average temperature not exceeding +16.3%. Due to global warming, the average length of summer in Latvia will likely have reached 136 days by the end of this century. Average air temperature may reach +19.5° C.
Between 1961 and 2010 winters in Latvia have become nearly one and a half decrees warmer, whereas summer temperatures have increased by about 0.3 degrees.
The length of meteorological summer has increased by 11 days over the years. Winter, on the other hand, has become shorter by a week.
In the coming days weather in Latvia will be cloudy and rainy. There is also a possibility of thunderstorms and heavy rain, meteorologists predict. The wind is expected to be slow. Air temperature will not drop below +8° C… +15° C, whereas maximum air temperature will be about +20° C… +25° C and slightly colder along the coast and during rainfall.