2019 was Germany's third-warmest year on record - meteorological service
Clean Energy Wire
In 2019, Germany experienced its third-warmest year since the beginning of regular measurements in 1881, with an average annual temperature of 10.2°C, Germany's National Meteorological Service DWD has said. The previous year was Germany's warmest ever recorded, 2014 its second-warmest. "Like most of the previous years, 2019 was again too dry in Germany, with more sunshine than usual and above all significantly too warm," wrote the DWD. 2019's summer was extremely dry and hot, surpassing all previous summers with regards to temperature records. On 25 July, Germany set a new heat record of 42.6°C, while temperatures climbed above 40°C three days in a row at 23 measuring stations. The warm weather led rivers to run dry and forests to suffer damages, says DWD.
The prolonged drought and record-breaking temperatures in 2018 increased public pressure for more climate action. Droughts have caused "immense damage" to the country's forests, leading agriculture minister Julia Klöckner to earmark 800 million euros to make them "climate-resilient".
