Cold and heat waves in Poland

Cold waves

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From time to time, Poland can be affected by polar cold waves, coming from the Russian Arctic or Siberia.

In February 1956, the longest postwar cold spell in many European countries, the temperature dropped to -31 °C (-24 °F) in Wroclaw and Kielce, -30 °C (-22 °F) in Gdansk and Katowice, -29 °C (-20 °F) in Lublin and Szczecin, -27 °C (-16.5 °F) in Lodz, and -26 °C (-15 °F) in Warsaw.
In January 1963, the temperature dropped to -31 °C (-24 °F) in Lublin and Lodz, -29 °C (-20 °F) in Bialystok, -28 °C (-18.5 °F) in Warsaw, -27 °C (-16.5 °F) in Wroclaw, -26 °C (-15 °F) in Katowice, and -24 °C (-11 °F) in Gdansk.
In January 1985, the temperature dropped to -31.5 °C (-24.5 °F) in Jelenia Gora, -30 °C (-22 °F) in Wroclaw, -28 °C (-18.5 °F) in Bialystok and Gdansk, -26 °C (-15 °F) in Krakow, -25 °C (-13 °F) in Poznan and Warsaw, -24 °C (-11 °F) in Bialystok and Katowice, and -20.5 °C (-5 °F) in Szczecin and Swinoujscie.
In February 1985, the cold returned, and the temperature dropped to -27.5 °C (-17.5 °F) in Lodz, -27 °C (-16.5 °F) in Krakow, -26.5 °C (-15.5 °F) in Lublin, -26 °C (-15 °F) in Katowice, -24 °C (-11 °F) in Gdansk, Lublin, Poznan and Warsaw, and -19.5 °C (-3 °F) in Szczecin.
The cold wave of January 1987 was in Poland, and in some areas of northern Europe, the worst after the war, at least in intensity. The temperature dropped to -34.5 °C (-30 °F) in Bialystok (in the north-east), -32 °C (-25.5 °F) in Lublin (in the south-east), -31 °C (-24 °F) in Jelenia Gora, Katowice and Warsaw, -30 °C (-22 °F) in Krakow, Gdansk, Lodz and Szczecin, -29.5 °C (-21 °F) in Wroclaw, and -28.5 °C (-19.5 °F) in Poznan.
In January 2006, the temperature dropped to -30 °C (-22 °F) in Lodz, -29 °C (-20 °F) in Katowice, -27.5 °C (-17.5 °F) in Lublin, -27 °C (-16.5 °F) in Krakow and Warsaw, -26.5 °C (-15.5 °F) in Poznan, -26 °C (-15 °F) in Bialystok and Szczecin, -22.5 °C (-8.5 °F) in Wroclaw, -21 °C (-6 °F) in Gdansk, and -20 °C (-4 °F) in Swinoujscie.
In January 2010, the temperature dropped to -25 °C (-13 °F) in Lublin, -24 °C (-11 °F) in Katowice, -23 °C (-9.5 °F) in Warsaw, -22 °C (-7.5 °F) in Krakow and Lodz, and -21 °C (-6 °F) in Wroclaw.
In February 2012, the temperature dropped to -30 °C (-22 °F) in Bialystok, -28 °C (-18.5 °F) in Jelenia Gora, -27 °C (-16.5 °F) in Gdansk and Katowice, -25 °C (-13 °F) in Szczecin, -23 °C (-9.5 °F) in Krakow and Warsaw, and -22 °C (-7.5 °F) in Swinoujscie and Lodz.

Heat waves

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In summer, Poland is not particularly prone to heat waves, due to its high latitude, however there can sometimes be hot periods, usually lasting a few days, in which the temperature can reach 33/34 °C (93 °F) or even more. In recent decades, these situations have become more frequent due to global warming. The most affected area is generally the western one (see Wroclaw, Poznan), the least exposed is the Baltic coast.
Between the end of July and the beginning of August 1994, the temperature reached 38 °C (100.5 °F) in Szczecin, 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) in Lodz and Swinoujscie, 37 °C (98.5 °F) in Wroclaw and Poznan, 36 °C (97 °F) in Jelenia Gora and Warsaw, 35.5 °C (96 °F) in Bialystok, 35 °C (95 °F) in Gdansk and Katowice, and 34 °C (93 °F) in Lublin.
In August 2013, the temperature reached 37 °C (98.5 °F) in Krakow, Katowice, Lodz and Warsaw, 36 °C (97 °F) in Wroclaw, 35 °C (95 °F) in Lublin, 34.5 °C (94 °F) in Swinoujscie, and 34 °C (93 °F) in Szczecin.
In August 2015, the temperature reached 38 °C (100.5 °F) in Wroclaw, 37 °C (98.5 °F) in Poznan and Warsaw, 36 °C (97 °F) in Krakow, Jelenia Gora and Szczecin, 35 °C (95 °F) in Katowice and Lublin, 34.5 °C (94 °F) in Bialystok, 34 °C (93 °F) in Swinoujscie, and 33 °C (91.5 °F) in Gdansk.
Between the end of June and the beginning of July 2019, there was a very short and early heatwave, which brought 38 °C (100.5 °F) in Poznan and Swinoujscie, 37 °C (98.5 °F) in Wroclaw, 36 °C (97 °F) in Krakow and Warsaw, 35 °C (95 °F) in Katowice, Lublin and Szczecin, and 34 °C (93 °F) in Gdansk.