THE YEAR IN THE GLASS · PLATE II

2026, so far.

21 of the 29 northern-hemisphere regions we track have had their warmest growing season since our record begins in 1950.

Heat accumulated from 1 April to 21 September, measured against each region's own 1991–2020 average.

All 29 regions, ranked by heat

REGIONHEAT VS AVERAGERAIN VS AVERAGEHOT DAYS
+56%−31%17
+51%−59%14
+51%−50%13
+49%−38%0
+48%−41%14
+48%−38%5
+47%−47%14
+44%−44%15
+44%−44%16
+43%−42%9
+43%−50%5
+43%−41%5
+40%−34%16
+39%−29%19
+39%−50%12
+37%−40%19
+37%−31%23
+36%−41%4
+32%−15%31
+31%−26%11
+28%−17%7
+26%−18%9
+13%−65%9
+11%−54%32
+10%−14%0
+9%−28%1
+7%+19%1
+3%+70%0
+2%+31%15
NOW · OBSERVEDNorthern 2026

Most of the season is already measured. What remains is the harvest itself, and that is decided in the vineyard, not in the weather record.

NEXT · TRACKED WEEKLYSouthern 2027

The southern season opens on 1 October. Each week adds observed days, a few days behind real time, against the same 1991–2020 average.

METHOD · Daily ERA5-Land reanalysis at one grid point per region (a cell of about 9 km), 1950–2026, compared with the 1991–2020 average. Heat is growing degree days above 10 °C. The northern season runs from 1 April; this page shows it to 21 September. The closest season is the earlier year whose heat, rain and hot days over the same dates were nearest to this year's. The most recent weeks are preliminary and can be revised. Grid cells in steep country read cooler than the vineyards in them, so each region is compared only with itself. This page describes the weather. It says nothing about the quality of the wine. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.