Poland is increasingly affected by rapidly changing weather conditions. Over the past few months, we’ve seen a lot of sudden, rapid fluctuations in weather conditions. As experts warn, such large fluctuations in temperature can have a serious impact on our health. Rapid changes in the weather also do not suit plants and animals.
The weather in recent months has surprised us with its changeability. As the forecaster of tvnmeteo.pl Arleta Unton-Pyziołek said, this is due to the alternating influx of northern and southern air masses. The end of October brought us unusual warmth of African origin. Thermometers showed in places over 20 degrees Celsius.
A violent aura over Poland
From mid-November it got quite drastically cold, due to the influx of icy air. The frosty weather accompanied us until the beginning of December, then the warming came and the temperature became a bit more kind. The consequence of the change in circulation was snowfall. Very difficult conditions prevailed in almost the entire country.
Then our country found itself in the grip of frost again, and thermometers stopped showing values exceeding 0 degrees C – even at the warmest moment of the day. A few days before Christmas, the warm air reached us again, changing the landscape from winter to late autumn. The end of the year brought us the aura typical of spring, and the warm, tropical air contributed to the increase in temperature. Heat records were broken on New Year’s Day.
It might seem that winter has already left Poland, because despite the beginning of the year, nature began to revive and the first buds and flowers appeared on the trees. Nothing could be more wrong, because the weather will change rapidly again.
– A big cooldown is expected over the weekend in Europe. You can see that a cold bay is developing, but it seems to be “licking” us. On Saturday morning in the north it is possible -14 degrees, in the center about -12/-10 degrees. During the day, the maximum temperature in the central regions can reach -5/-6 degrees. These are preliminary forecasts, a lot can still happen – noted the weather forecaster.
Physical and mental strain
Such rapid changes in the aura and temperature can be a significant burden for our body. Sensitivity to the weather is an individual trait. All fluctuations in the weather can be very much felt and harmful, especially for the elderly and chronically ill.
– Changes in air masses will be fatal for our well-being. Then comes the thermal shock. It will be a very difficult week, also for nature. In the south there are already places where wasps and daisies appeared, and suddenly the temperature dropped below -10 degrees… – said the weather forecaster.
How to mitigate the adverse effects of the weather on our health? IMGW recommends, above all, regular airing of apartments, which has a hardening effect on our bodies. Remember to regularly replenish fluids in the body, take care of a balanced diet and light physical activity. When leaving the house, we should wear clothes adapted to the current weather conditions.
Snowfall may return as the weather cools down. Unton-Pyziołek reported that from Friday it could rain in the belt from Pomerania, through the center, to the Lublin region. Snow will bypass the western regions, and there will be very little snow in the northeast.
– In order for the plants to be safe from such a wave of frost that is coming, several days of rainfall are needed – as it was in December. And at the moment, forecasts say that rainfall will only be able to prepare a few regions for such a cold, she said.
Nature does not like sudden fluctuations
As told on TVN24, prof. Bogdan Chojnicki, climatologist from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań“Spring” days at the turn of December and January are just one of many phenomena last year that brought unusually warm air masses to our regions.
– In 2022, we had 11 such events – he explained. – On January 1, 2022, we started with a record high temperature and interestingly, we closed the year with a record high on December 31. (…) Only 30-40 years ago, intrusions of warm air masses from Africa were a kind of sensation, they accounted for 1-3 percent of all events that we observed during the year. Today, that figure is 10 percent.
These changes have an impact on the natural world. The scientist explained that most of the species known to us are cold-blooded organisms, whose physiological activity is directly dependent on temperature.
“After exceeding a certain threshold temperature, they begin to activate,” he pointed out. – It is worth mentioning plants, because you can already see the growing buds of shrubs (…), there are also flowers, for example magnolia, which is not from our climatic zone and simply reacts to the temperature.
Not only the plants started to become active. The characteristic smell of the soil means that under the influence of high temperature, the microorganisms living in it have become active and started the process of decomposing organic matter. Bees are also sensitive to sudden warming – when the temperature rises above 10 degrees Celsius, they start to be active and fly out of the hives in search of flower pollen. Not finding it, they return to the apiary, feeding on supplies for the winter.
“When this scenario of low temperatures is mixed with high temperatures (…), bee colonies will be in very poor physiological condition during the growing season, when the flowers really start to bloom” – explained Chojnicki. – This is an example of how rapid temperature fluctuations desynchronize the entire natural system – he added.
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