A high-pressure zone over the Mediterranean region and an Atlantic low-pressure system induced a strong south-west flux that brought warm air from north-western Africa to middle latitudes. The air was further warmed when passing the North Atlantic due to a higher-than-normal sea surface temperature. In the eastern North Atlantic, sea surface temperature was 1–2 °C higher than normal, near the coasts of Iberia even more. All this caused record-breaking heat in several European countries on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
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