As western Europe battles a new record-breaking heatwave, Germany is bracing for temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
”We expect the heatwave to peak in Germany today and tomorrow,” German Weather Service (DWD) spokesman Andreas Friedrich told reporters on Tuesday.
”Tuesday and Wednesday could be the warmest days of the year — with temperatures expected to hit 40 degrees in southwest and western Germany on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the heatwave will shift towards the east and northeast,” Friedrich went on to say.
The hottest day in Germany was recorded on 19 June this year, where temperatures reached 39.2 degrees Celsius in Cottbus and Dresden. “We can assume that this record will be broken on Tuesday,” Friedrich said.
According to DWD, Germany’s heat record stood at 41.2 degrees Celsius, measured in Duisburg on 25 July 2019. “It is possible that we will get into similar ranges along the Rhine on Tuesday.”
”The extreme heat is a result of climate change,” Friedrich added. “Since the famous ‘summer of the century’ in 2003, we don’t experience the 40 degrees Celsius mark every year. However, we do see very high temperatures more and more often in the summer,” he went on to say.
Friedrich said that the extreme high temperatures will cause drought and dryness in some areas across Germany and the risk of wildfires remains very high.
Wildfires have already been seen in parts of southern France and Spain, with Portugal facing drought, and the UK, its first ever red weather warning for high temperatures.
