When will heating start in Warsaw? Weather outlook

13 September 2026 Poland Radar 0 Comments

Rules tie heating in Warsaw to sustained cold, not the date. Latest forecasts point to a warmer September and a likely delayed heating season.

Evenings are getting cooler and many radiators stay silent across the city. heating in Warsaw depends on a repeatable weather trigger, not on a calendar date.

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How Polish rules decide the heating season

Poland does not set a fixed start date for central heating. The Minister of Economy regulation of 15 January 2007 links the season to weather. In practice managers follow an interpretation: average daily temperature must remain below 10-12°C for at least three consecutive days. Another regulation, from 12 April 2002, requires at least 20°C in living rooms and 24°C in bathrooms once heating should run. If a flat is colder solely because heating is off, managers face a legal breach of that norm. Building managers request supply from the district heat provider. In most of Warsaw that supplier is Veolia Energia Warszawa.

heating in Warsaw: what happened last week

Temperatures varied strongly. On Tuesday, 8 September, parts of Poland saw highs up to 28°C. Wednesday, 9 September, reached 29°C in some places. Thursday, 10 September, brought a sharp cool down, with many areas struggling to pass 15-20°C. On Friday, 11 September, the coolest spots hit 12-13°C. Even in that spell, no region recorded a sustained drop below the 10-12°C threshold for three straight days. Warsaw and the city centre usually sit on the milder side during such swings. Therefore managers had no clear legal basis to switch on the system last week.

What meteorologists expect this month

The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) issued an experimental long-range outlook. It shows September likely to be warmer than the 1991-2020 average by about 1-1.5°C. Local excesses on the south and south-east could reach about 2°C. A persistent heat ridge sits over Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. Cold lows circle Scandinavia and the Atlantic. Poland lies on the boundary of those systems. That explains the fast day-to-day swings we saw. The IMGW cautions that monthly means do not predict individual cold spells. Short, sharp coolings remain possible.

When you should expect the heating to be on

Given the recent lack of a three-day cold spell and the warmer monthly outlook, a typical start to large-scale heating looks likelier in late September or October than in the next few days. Forecasters may update their models, though, and a sudden cool episode could change the timing. The surest way to know is to monitor your flat’s temperature for several consecutive mornings at the same hour. Managers usually act when the legal condition is met and then notify the supplier.

💡 GOOD TO KNOW: If you feel cold, measure the indoor temperature at roughly the same time each day for several days. Contact your building manager (zarządca or administrator) with the readings. The law requires 20°C in living rooms and 24°C in bathrooms when heating should run. Keep your radiator valves accessible and note that the district supplier for most of Warsaw is Veolia Energia Warszawa.

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