The end of winter was exceptionally mild in the European country, with February and March seeing record heat. Germany recorded the warmest March since measurements began, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported on Tuesday (02/04). federal agency that monitors the weather.
With an exceptionally mild late winter, the average March temperature was 7.5°C, four degrees above the average for the recognized reference period, which uses records from 1961 to 1990, the DWD said. Compared to the current, warmer comparison period from 1991 to 2020, the increase was 2.9°C. The average temperature of 7.5°C also significantly exceeded the previous record of 2017 (7.2°C).
On March 30, just after winter, the temperature reached 24.9°C in Cottbus, near the Polish border, and 24°C in Munich in the south, temperatures often associated with the summer months.
February 2024 was also marked by a new historical record, with an average temperature of 6.6°C.
Preliminary data for the entire winter period published in February already showed that Germany had had a long period of exceptionally warm and humid weather.
An average of 270 liters of rain per square meter fell between the beginning of December and the end of February, nearly 50% more than the normal amount, DWD reported.
With an average temperature of 4.1°C, the winter as a whole – from December 21 to March 20 – was the third warmest since measurements began in 1881, according to preliminary data.
The agency also highlighted that this was the 13th consecutive winter in Germany considered mild.
In 2023, around 3,100 people died due to high temperatures in Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national public health agency.
Globally, 2023 was by far the warmest year on record, according to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) annual State of the Climate report, released in March.
Global temperatures have “broken” records as heatwaves hit oceans and glaciers suffered record ice loss, the UN said.
“There is a high probability that 2024 will again surpass the record of 2023,” said WMO climate monitoring chief Omar Baddour. Also this Tuesday, Spain reported that it is on track to have the warmest first three months of the year since measurements began.
jps (dpa, ots)
Source: Terra
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