13 consecutive months of record-high temperatures in Germany
Clean Energy Wire
April 2019 is the 13th consecutive month with warmer than average weather in Germany, a record since measurements began in 1881, Germany's National Meteorological Service (DWD) says in a press release. “We’re witnessing climate change live,” said DWD president Gerhard Adrian. At 9.6 degrees Celsius in April, the temperature average was 2.2 degrees above the internationally agreed reference period of 1961 to 1990, said DWD. German-wide average rainfall was also almost 50 percent below what is typical for April, although there are large regional differences.
Last week, DWD warned that the 2018 drought in Germany could be repeated or even surpassed, should the dry weather continue. Exceptionally high temperatures in northern Europe, drought and resulting low water levels in the Rhine River fuelled the climate change debate in Germany last summer. Last year was Germany’s warmest since measurements began in 1881, and eight of the nine hottest years since 1881 have been in the 21st century. The DWD said that “this remarkable concentration of warm years clearly shows that global warming is unchecked”.
