One of the many claims about Hvar is that it is the sunniest island in Europe, with an average of 2715 hours of sunshine each year. Or 2718. Or 2724. I have always wondered how this number was calculated, but also how relavent it is today.
Hvar IS one of the top 10 most beautiful islands in the world, at least in my opinion. It is often called this, and the history of the claim dates back to a Conde Nast readers' poll in I think 1997. So how true is the claim about Hvar's famous weather today?
According a French report, nothing has changed regarding the Hvar sunshine. Under a title called
La planète a battu son record de chaleur cet été
which the French I haven't spoken since my days in Rwanda in 1995 translates as something like The Planet has Beaten Its Heat Record This Summer, one island gets a mention...
"Les pays voisins ont aussi connu une forte chaleur, et notamment l’Espagne où la moyenne nationale pour juillet s’est élevée à 26,5 °C, avec un apogée le 6 juillet à 45,2 °C. C’est la Croatie qui a enregistré le nouveau record pour la région : l’île Hvar, sur la mer Adriatique, a connu une moyenne de 28,2 °C."
With records all over Europe, Croatia registered a new record for the region, with a certain island of Hvar recording a mean temperature of 28.2 C.
Hvar's status as the sunniest island in Europe lives on and, looking out of the window at trademark blue skies, I feel blessed once more to have found this island after being born in the rain in Manchester.
