Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Heatwave to hit Germany with temperatures well above 30C

Dig out your fans... because hot days are coming to Germany.

Published: 5 August 2020 10:50 CEST
Updated: 5 August 2020 14:16 CEST
Heatwave to hit Germany with temperatures well above 30C
People cooling down at Stralsund at the Baltic Sea on Tuesday. Photo: DPA

After the changeable weather of July, the German Weather Service (DWD) says there's likely to be a longer heatwave in the coming days which could well become a historic weather event in parts of the country.

“According to our forecasts, the 30C mark will be exceeded in the Rhineland on Wednesday – and it will probably stay that way until August 13th,” DWD spokesman Andreas Friedrich told DPA.

In the Rhineland there could be nine hot days with temperatures above 30C in a row – without any cooling in between. It's even possible that the thermometer will rise to 35C.

According to the forecast, it will be similarly hot in the Rhine-Main region. For Frankfurt, the meteorologists expect six tropical weather days in a row from Saturday to the following Friday, with temperatures not dropping below 20C.

“This will be an extreme strain,” warned the DWD spokesman. He said that heat warnings were likely to occur in many places across Germany.

In Berlin for example, temperatures above 30C are forecast starting on Friday until the following Thursday.

READ ALSO: Is it ever legally too hot to go to work or school in Germany?

Danger of forest fires

The unusually long heat wave is also characterized by drought, with massive consequences for nature. “The extreme drought in the middle of Germany is threatening to worsen, the danger of forest fires is increasing even further.” Apart from a few thunder storms, no rain is expected.

The hottest day of the year so far in Germany was last Friday July 31st. In Rheinfelden in southern Baden the mercury reached 38.5C.

READ ALSO: Health warnings as Europe swelters under heatwave

And on Saturday, temperatures in southern Germany climbed to well over 30C. The warmest area was Bad Mergentheim-Neunkirchen in the northeast of Baden-Wuerttemberg with 37.1C, according to DWD meteorologist Tobias Reinartz.

In general, temperatures in the south and in the middle of Germany were above 30C.

The temperatures brought the Baltic beaches in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a record-breaking number of visitors on Saturday. Even off the coast at some of the state's lakes, the amount of visitors was so large that access had to be limited.

Last year Germany saw its hottest ever temperature since records began – 42.6C – was recorded in Lingen, Lower Saxony, on July 25th during a European-wide heatwave.

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

FLOODS

German communities brace for flooding as water levels continue to rise

Water levels on the Elbe and Oder rivers in Germany are rising, sparking preparations for floods as the clean-up across central Europe gets underway.

Published: 19 September 2024 10:12 CEST
German communities brace for flooding as water levels continue to rise

As several countries in Europe face the devastating aftermath of severe flooding following torrential rain, communities in some regions of Germany are trying to manage rising water levels. 

According to a forecast by the state flood centre, the water on the Elbe river has not yet reached expected peaks. In the city of Dresden, the Elbe rose above the six-metre mark on Wednesday. There, as well as in Schöna on the border with the Czech Republic, the flood peak is expected on Thursday.

There is a cautious all-clear along other rivers in the east and south of Germany. Further north, however, Brandenburg is looking anxiously at the Oder river, which is expected to bring more water in the coming days.

READ ALSO: Parts of Germany hit by flooding as torrential rain wreaks havoc across central Europe

Flood crisis teams are due to meet in Frankfurt (Oder), located at the border with Poland, and other municipalities in Brandenburg on Thursday. A level 1 flood alert was issued for sections of the river on Wednesday.

According to the State Office for the Environment, floodplains and meadows close to the banks are expected to start flooding, with the areas of the Oder village of Ratzdorf to Eisenhüttenstadt particularly affected.

The state office believes the highest alert level – level 4 – with a water level of around six metres will be reached in the next few days near Ratzdorf, where the Oder reaches Brandenburg territory.

Clean-up work underway in central and eastern Europe

In the flood-hit areas from Poland to the Czech Republic and Austria, the clean-up work has now begun, but the situation is only slowly easing.

In many places, the emergency services are still struggling with masses of water. Soldiers are also providing support in Poland and the Czech Republic. However, the authorities are not yet giving the all-clear. So far, more than 20 people have tragically lost their lives in the region due to the extreme weather.

In the Polish city of Wroclaw in the west of the country, the flood wave was not expected until Thursday night. As several tributaries that also carry a lot of water flow into the Oder between Olawa and Wroclaw, the possibility of flooding in the Lower Silesian metropolis cannot be ruled out, said an expert.

Flooding in Bresgau Poland

A drone captures the high water levels in Bresgau, Poland, on September 19th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PAP | Maciej Kulczynski

Flood defences in Wroclaw have been reinforced as a precautionary measure. One third of the city of 630,000 inhabitants was flooded during the Oder flood in 1997.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to visit Poland on Thursday afternoon. According to the EU Commission, the trip is being organised at the invitation of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer are also expected to attend the meeting.

The talks are likely to focus on the question of funds from Brussels for reconstruction although the extent of the damage is still unclear.

With reporting from DPA

SHOW COMMENTS