Liepāja hits +17 degrees — now even the beach isn't as cold as usual

Liepāja yesterday reached a heat record of +17.1 degrees, which is about as sensational as news that Riga has traffic jams again. But this time even our beach and the Baltic Sea, which is usually windy and cold even in summer, looked almost hospitable. Local pensioner Kārlis commented: "For the first time in 40 years I could go to the seaside without hiding behind the dunes like a partisan."

Records were broken at all 25 observation stations, but the biggest surprise was that Liepāja even beat Ventspils. That's as unusual an event as the Riga mayor visiting Liepāja without complaining about the wind. Meteorologist Juris explains: "The previous March 14th record was +13.6 degrees in Riga in 1972, but our +17.1 is like a football score against the capital."

This month heat records have already been broken on ten days, which means either climate change is happening in Latvia or God finally remembered that winter is over. Liepāja residents have meanwhile started planning summer festivals in March, because "if it's already this warm now, then in July we'll be able to go to the beach even without sweaters."

The only thing that hasn't changed — the wind still blows, but now it's warm wind, which is almost like heating, only free and with sea aroma.