The final days of February are bringing a sharp temperature rise across Central and Southern Europe. In Poland, forecasters are predicting locally up to 19 degrees Celsius, heralding the arrival of meteorological early spring. At the same time, experts warn of weather variability, potential overnight frosts, and difficult conditions on mountain trails, where the weather situation remains unstable and could surprise tourists.

The turn of February and March 2026 is being recorded in the annals of meteorology as an exceptionally mild, yet highly contrasting period. In Poland, Saturday brought spectacular warming, with thermometers in the warmest regions of the country showing values close to 19 degrees Celsius. Such weather is more characteristic of advanced spring than the ending calendar winter. The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) has also published the first forecasts for the upcoming summer, suggesting the holiday period may be characterized by stability, but March will remain a month of high dynamic change. Similar phenomena are being observed in other parts of Europe. In Germany, particularly in Berlin and Brandenburg, temperatures reaching 20 degrees have been recorded, although the northern states are grappling with greater cloud cover and intermittent rain showers. Meanwhile, in Italy, meteorologists have declared the actual end of winter, pointing to the dominance of sunshine and thermal peaks reaching up to 23 degrees Celsius in the southern regions. Austrian weather services summarized the past winter season as one of the driest and most overcast in recent years, raising concerns among farmers and hydrologists. Over the last two decades, the average February temperature in Central Europe has increased by nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius, which scientists link to progressive climate change and more frequent influxes of tropical air masses.Despite the spring-like mood, experts are urging caution. In central and northern Poland, including Szczecin and Białystok, the morning greeted residents with dense clouds and fog, drastically lowering the perceived temperature. A particularly dangerous situation prevails in the Tatra and Karkonosze Mountains. <przypis title=