The heat wave that affects much of Europe will reach western Germany on Tuesday, where meteorological services forecast temperatures of up to 40 degrees throughout the day.
The German Meteorological Service (DWD) predicts that in some western regions the previous maximum of this year, established on June 19 at 39.2 degrees, will be exceeded. The heat wave is set to spread further into southern Germany, while it is expected to reach some eastern regions, including Berlin, on Wednesday.
The absolute maximum in Germany was recorded in July 2019 in Duisburg, one of the urban centers in the west of the country, when 41.2 degrees were reached. The country’s authorities have called on the population of these regions to observe the utmost caution in the face of this new wave of extreme heat.
The climate crisis has cost Germany more than 80 billion euros in damage caused by extreme weather, according to an independent study commissioned by the Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection. The study indicates that this damage was a consequence of extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis, including recent episodes such as the exceptionally hot and dry summers of 2018 and 2019 and the floods last summer in the west of the country.