Sunshine and blue sky have dominated weather reports so far throughout March 2022 and, although the end of the month could bring some cloud, the current month is on course to set a record as the sunniest March in Denmark.

As of Thursday morning, 170 hours of sunshine had been registered in March, leaving it 30 hours short of the existing record of 200 hours, a record that has stood for almost 80 years according to broadcaster DR.

The remaining hours of sunshine look achievable if the forecast for the coming days is anything to go by, according to the broadcaster’s meteorologist Søren Jacobsen.

“With the daylight hours we are having now, we get around 10 hours of sun per day when there are no clouds,” he told DR prior to Thursday, which also saw day-long sunshine.

March normally gets 138.4 hours of sunshine, according to DR. The figure is based on the average for the past 10 years.

The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) measures and records Denmark’s sunshine hours. The sunlight must be of a certain strength for it to count towards the total, but in general, a clear sky across the entire horizon and no clouds are required.

The most sun-drenched March on record in Denmark occurred in 1943, when 200 hours were registered. Second place is 2013 with 189.7 hours.

In 2020, Denmark got 182 hours of sun, placing that year 6th on the current list. The country was locked down due to Covid-19 from March 11th through the end of the month.