LJUBLJANA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Last year, temperatures in Slovenia were the highest since measurements started, the country's Environment Agency (ARSO) said on its website on Thursday.
The average air temperature in 2022 in Slovenia reached 10.8 degrees Celsius, almost two degrees above the 1981-2010 average," ARSO said, citing preliminary data.
All four seasons of 2022 were warmer than the average in the country. The average annual temperature has increased by 2.3 degrees Celsius since 1970 and has been increasing by about 0.4 degree every ten years.
Last year, annual precipitation in the country was 15 percent below the 1981-2010 average, which made 2022 one of the driest years in Slovenia's history.
Slovenia, a mountainous country that lies between Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea, has over the past years experienced severe droughts during the summer months, which resulted in a number of wildfires.
In July 2022, the largest wildfire in Slovenia's history raged in the western part of the country for about two weeks, destroying large forest areas and forcing the evacuation of several villages. There were no casualties. ■