June 1940 shouldn’t really bring a smile to Danes’ faces – it was only the second full month of the German Occupation, which would continue until May 1945 – but it does among those old enough to remember.
The weather! Yes, the weather! In just 30 days, there were 303 hours of sunshine for the resident German soldiers to bask in – a record that looked likely to stand forever.
But then came June 2023: time for the weather gods to extinguish the ghosts of 1940. A few hours into the sunshine this morning, and Denmark had a new record to celebrate: 304+ hours and counting!
Still two more days to go
With two more days to complete the month, the new record will take some beating.
But who knows: the first half of the month contributed 194 hours – June 12 managed 15.9 all on its own – so it could be beaten one day in the future.
Given that DMI only started measuring sunshine in 1920, perhaps it’s too soon to identify a pattern. But based on the data at hand, 2106 – in another 83 years – looks a good bet to eclipse the record of 2023.
Almost double the average in the 1970s
On average, June has yielded 227 hours of sunshine every year since 1990, and just 174 hours in the 30 years before that.
So this June has managed 34 percent more than average – and there’s still two days to go.
The improvement in recent years is mostly attributed to the propensity of cleaner, clearer air, according to European satellite organisation EUMETSAT – thanks mostly to the introduction of strict pollution regulations in the 1980s and the subsequent reduction in aerosols.
