Germany gripped by heat wave as temperatures could rise further

Germany is sweltering around the clock during a heat wave, and according to the German Weather Service (DWD), it will get even warmer in the coming nights, media reports said Wednesday.

It is entirely possible that temperatures in major metropolitan areas in the western part of the country will not drop below 24 °C or 25 °C (75.2 °F or 77 °F) at night, said Felix Dietzsch, from the weather forecasting center.

“In other words, fully tropical and likely record-breaking conditions, which are actually already unbearable without air conditioning,” Der Spiegel news magazine quoted Dietzsch.

Daytime temperatures in the west and southwest along the Rhine, Main, and Moselle rivers reached up to 38 °C. Temperatures of more than 30 °C were also recorded across much of the east and north.

“Things will heat up even more on Thursday and Friday,” said Dietzsch. Temperatures are expected to reach up to 39 °C Thursday, and they will rise further Friday.

Some forecasts predict local highs of 41 °C, “but there’s still some uncertainty,” according to the DWD.

On Friday, the heat is expected to spread to the rest of the country. Temperatures will remain below 35 °C only north of the Elbe and in some areas south of the Danube, according to reports. Elsewhere, temperatures will range between 36 °C and 38 °C, and in parts of the southwestern half of the country, between 39 °C and 40 °C.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Germany was 41.2 °C, measured July 25, 2019, in the western towns of Tonisvorst and Duisburg-Baerl. The hottest day in June was recorded on June 30 of that year, in the eastern city of Bernburg at 39.6 °C.