Gibraltar records warmest year ever in 2023

Last year was the warmest on record in Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Met Office has confirmed.

Data for 2023 registered another year-on-year rise in temperatures, with a daily mean of 19.9° Celsius recorded at the airport.

The Met Office told the Chronicle this was 1.0°C higher than the long-term average recorded over the past 30 years, which is 18.9° Celsius.

The previous record was 19.5° Celsius set in 2022, and prior to that the record was 19.3° Celsius in 1997.

The record-breaking warm weather in Gibraltar comes against the backdrop of global concern about climate change.

The UK Met Office also confirmed 2023 was second warmest year on record for UK since records began in 1884, with an average mean temperature of 9.97°C.

In Gibraltar the month of December 2023 also saw above average temperatures and broke the record for the warmest December day.

The average temperature for December 2023 was 15.2°C, some 0.5°C higher than the long-term average of 14.7°C but slightly below December 2022, the warmest December on record when the daily mean temperature was 16.5°C.

However, the record for the warmest December day was broken on December 11, 2023, with a maximum temperature of 25°C recorded at the airport.

According to the Met Office the previous record was 24.7°C from 1989.