Weather experts document a new spring high.
This year, Germany is facing its warmest spring in history. According to weather experts, climate change cannot be disregarded as the temperature has been significantly higher than normal, and rainfall has been exceptionally high too. The spring of 2024 has been remarkable not only for its mild and friendly weather but also for averaging above 10.8 degrees Celsius, which is 3.1 degrees more than the long-term average dating back to 1881.
In fact, Mai was 2 degrees warmer than usual and received more sunshine while also being wetter than ever before. NTV meteorologist Björn Alexander explained that in the three months spanning from March to May, the average temperature was much higher than the long-term average. The weather records from 1881 are the highest they've ever been during this time of the year.
The German Weather Service (DWD) noted that in comparison to the last three decades, May 2024 was not only warmer by 2 degrees but also shinier and wetter. Spokesperson Uwe Kirsche echoed this sentiment, urging that "climate change cannot be ignored" following the warmest February and March before the unprecedented spring with records dating back to 1881.
In March 2024, temperatures were already 4 degrees higher than the average at a remarkable 7.5 degrees, making it feel like April rather than March. On April 6, the Upper Rhine Valley in Baden-Württemberg experienced the highest temperature of the year at 30.1 degrees. Before that, however, there was a sudden temperature drop on April 23 when minus 8.8 degrees was recorded in the Saxon village of Deutschneudorf-Bruderwiese.
In addition to the record temperatures, heavy rainfall occurred in some regions, as the DWD stated in its spring balance. Heavy rainstorms in May led to a crisis in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. Even though there was a drought in some Eastern parts, this spring saw much more rainfall than the statistical average. With roughly 235 liters per square meter, the German average for the spring of 2024 is expected to be significantly higher than the expected 186 liters per square meter from the reference period of 1961-1990 and 171 liters per square meter of the period from 1991-2020. Meanwhile, the southwest of Germany suffered from a 700-liter-per-square-meter downpour.
Remarkably, the duration of sunshine in Germany has fluctuated: 485 hours exceeded the 467-hour average of the period from 1961 to 1990, but it was 12 hours less than the 522-hour average of the comparison period 1991-2020. Some regions in the northeast experienced over 600 hours of sunshine while certain regions of the western Middle Mountains received less than 400 hours of sunlight.
