RTL>regional news>
February 10, 2022 – 6:22am Watch
–
Hanover / Hamburg (dpa) – It’s not just a subjective feeling: according to data from the German Weather Service (DWD), January was unusually mild and poor in sunshine in Lower Saxony, Bremen and Hamburg. Many long for spring. Can dark clouds and dirty weather even lead to psychological crises? A distinction should be made between people suffering from depression and those for whom the weather somewhat affects their mood, Ulrich Hegerl, chairman of the German Depression Aid Foundation, told dpa.
According to the psychiatrist, depressive phases in patients occur just as much in summer as in winter. A special case is the so-called winter depression. “This is usually not so difficult, occurs only in autumn and winter and is more likely with cravings and an excessive need for sleep
connected.”
The Senckenberg professor at the University of Frankfurt / Main advises those who find the dark season depressing without being depressed to move a lot outside. “It is also important not to stay in bed for too long in the morning.” The doctor considers a walk even in cloudy skies to be just as helpful as sitting in front of a so-called daylight lamp.
In Lower Saxony, according to preliminary data from the German Weather Service (DWD), there were a meager 30 hours of sunshine in January. This was eight hours less than the long-term average of the internationally valid reference period 1961 to 1990. “We recorded particularly few hours of sunshine at measuring stations in Soltau with about 19 hours, in Fassberg with about 18 hours and in Bückeburg and Göttingen with about 16 hours of sunshine,” said DWD meteorologist Oliver Weiner. “All in all, the sun shone a little more along the Lower Saxony North Sea coast. In Cuxhaven we recorded about 30 hours, on Norderney even about 52 hours.”
Even in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein, the sun shone for 45 hours in January. In February, the weather in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein has been unusually wet so far. According to the DWD, the precipitation target expected for this month had already been almost 100 percent fulfilled by Wednesday. When will it finally be spring? “For most of us, unfortunately, it’s always too late,” meteorologist Weiner said. Even a serious look at the whole of February is not yet possible.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220210-99-55764/2
Source: DPA
– —
