August introduced a spell of drought followed by heavy downpours.

August introduced a spell of drought followed by heavy downpours.

August says its goodbyes with scorching heat and an overabundance of sunshine. Despite this, certain areas are grappling with the effects of a dry spell, while others have already faced an excessive amount of rain this month. This is evident from an examination of weather data.

The German Weather Service (DWD) has released an unexpected report for August: it was exceptionally hot and unusually sunny this month, the service states. The average temperature was 20 degrees Celsius, which is 3.5 degrees higher than the typical average for the international comparison period from 1961 to 1990. The monthly norm of 200 hours of sunshine was also significantly surpassed, with approximately 262 hours of sunshine recorded.

Compared to the 30-year reference period, there was also a noticeable lack of rainfall. However, the DWD highlights significant regional disparities in precipitation. On average, about 61 liters per square meter rained nationwide, which is about 80% of the usual amount for this time of year (approximately 77 liters). However, certain areas received significantly more precipitation, as confirmed by an analysis of precipitation data on a station-by-station basis conducted by ntv.de. In particular, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, as well as parts of Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony, have seen an excessive amount of rain compared to their regional long-term average.

According to the DWD, this can be attributed to localized heavy rain events. What would have fallen as rain in some rain-deficit areas over a three-month period was recorded in a few hours at certain locations: for instance, in Trendelburg, northern Hesse, the highest daily total of 169.8 liters per square meter was recorded at the beginning of the month. In Nordhausen, Thuringia, it rained 114.9 liters on the same day.

"Regions such as North Thuringia, southeastern Saxony, and the northwest of Baden-Württemberg also reported downpours that far exceeded the monthly average and caused flooding in certain instances," the DWD writes. In the Berchtesgaden region and Chiemgau, it was the wettest this month with an average of over 200 liters per square meter. Conversely, there are extremely dry regions, particularly in the east of the country. In the Magdeburg Börde and parts of western Brandenburg, less than 10 liters per square meter of rain fell in some areas, such as Baruth in Brandenburg (6.5 liters per square meter) or Genthin in Saxony-Anhalt (5.5 liters per square meter).

No cool summers for 28 years

Overall, the summer of 2024 is marked by its extremes. It started unusually cool, only to become extremely hot later on, culminating in "an unusually high temperature deviation." On August 13, the highest summer temperature of the year was recorded nationwide: 36.5 degrees in Bad Neuahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate. This makes the current August one of the top 5 warmest in German weather history.

With an overall average of 18.5 degrees - 2.2 degrees above the comparison value - the summer of 2024 is again significantly too warm and continues a long series: there has not been a single summer with a temperature balance below the long-term average in the last 28 years.

DWD meteorologist Marcus Beyer believes that this has altered our perception of whether a summer is warm or cold. What used to be considered exceptionally warm between 1961 and 1990 no longer feels as extreme today. This trend is expected to continue: "If we look several years ahead and consider how the hypothetical average for 2021 to 2050 would look with advancing climate change."

The European Union's climate policy officials might find these weather patterns in Germany this summer of particular interest. Despite the scorching heat and sunshine, the European Union's framework for addressing climate change emphasizes the need for balanced weather conditions across regions.

Regarding the temperature and precipitation records in Germany, it's crucial for the European Union to consider strategies that can help mitigate extreme weather events, ensuring the overall environmental and societal resilience of its member states.

Read also:

• Severe flooding continues in southern Germany.
• Floods continue to pose a major threat in southern Germany.
• Rising floods in the southern regions
• Floods: water levels remain critical in many places