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STORM

Incoming storm: Hurricane-force winds on the way to Germany

Extreme weather is predicted across Germany in the coming week, with hurricane-force winds expected, and flood warnings put out across many states.

Published: 20 February 2017 17:18 CET
Incoming storm: Hurricane-force winds on the way to Germany
Photo: DWD

Monday's weather forecasts made for some grim reading for many across Germany as locals discovered that severe weather warnings had been issued for their areas.

Large proportions of the country had some level of weather warning issued as of Monday afternoon until Wednesday, with some districts facing potential flooding or heavy storms. 

A level 3 warning, the second most serious, was issued in the Harz Mountains area, with the German Weather Service (DWD) expecting hurricane-force winds of up to 110 km/h. The DWD also forecast potential flooding due to melting ice.

The DWD has warned people in the area to avoid going outside, and to stay away from buildings, trees, and power lines.

Yellow areas mean level 1 warnings, orange means level 2 or “striking” warnings, while green means no weather warning. Click on the image to see the latest warning status.

Strong winds were also forecast between Monday evening and Tuesday evening for all of the northern states, with wind speeds of up to 60 km/h expected. Stronger, gale-force winds were predicted in some districts of the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

Much of the state of Baden-Württemberg has a level 2 weather warning, with the DWD cautioning some districts in the east that they could see up to 50mm of rain over only a 48-hour period, higher than the average rainfall for the whole month.

Due to the high amount of rainfall, combined with the large amount of ice and snow expected to melt by Wednesday, the DWD warned of high water levels in streams and rivers, and the potential flooding of some streets. 

Similar warnings for thawing ice have been issued across Thuringia, almost half of Saxony, and many areas of Bavaria, with some districts expecting large quantities of water to be drained over the next 48 hours. 

The new weather warnings comes after Germany experienced two vicious storms, Axel and Egon, in the early half of January. 

In the wake of storm Axel, the worst flooding for a decade was seen along the Baltic coast. The rising tides flooded streets and basements, and left cars underwater in many coastal areas. 

While nobody was hurt in storm Axel, storm Egon left two dead, and thousands more without power.

CLIMATE CRISIS

Record heat deaths and floods: How Germany is being hit by climate change

Germany was further confronted with extreme weather conditions and their consequences last year. With this summer likely to break records again, a new report shows the impact climate change is having.

Published: 22 April 2024 11:28 CEST
Record heat deaths and floods: How Germany is being hit by climate change

In 2023, more days of extremely high temperatures were recorded than at any time since records began, the European climate change service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) wrote in a joint report published on Monday. 

The records go back to 1940 and sometimes even further.

“2023 has been a complex and multifaceted year in terms of climate hazards in Europe,” said Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Director Carlo Buontempo. “We have witnessed widespread flooding, but also extreme forest fires with high temperatures and severe droughts.” 

These events have put a strain on natural ecosystems, and have also challenged agriculture, water management and public health.

According to the report, around 1.6 million people were affected by floods last year, and more than half a million people were affected by storms. The weather- and climate-related damage is estimated at well over 10 billion euros. “Unfortunately, these numbers are unlikely to decrease in the near future,” Buontempo said, referring to ongoing human-caused climate change.

Heat turns deadly, even in Germany

Averaged across Europe, 11 months of above-average warmth were recorded last year, with September being the warmest since records began in 1940. 

A record number of days with so-called extreme heat stress, i.e. perceived temperatures of over 46C, was also registered. 

As a result of higher temperatures, the number of heat-related deaths has risen by an average of 30 percent over the past 20 years.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, at least 3,100 deaths in Germany were linked to heat in the first nine months of 2023.

“In some cases, for example heat stroke, heat exposure leads directly to death, while in most cases it is the combination of heat exposure and pre-existing conditions that leads to death,” RKI explained in a statement, adding that women tend to be affected more than men due to higher proportion of women in older age groups.

In Germany temperatures above 30C are considered a heatwave. As weather patterns change due to human-caused climate change, heat waves have increased in number and length.

READ ALSO: How German cities are adapting to rising temperatures

Historically Germany hasn’t faced so many severe heatwaves each year, and central air conditioning is not commonly found in the country. In cities across the Bundesrepublik, heat plans are being drafted and refined to try and prepare for further extreme heat events in the near future.

Delivery van stuck in flood

A delivery van stranded in flood water during a storm surge near the fish market in Hamburg last winter. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bodo Marks
 

Warming oceans and mountains and more rain

On average, the seas around Europe’s coasts were warmer than at any time since at least 1980. 

READ ALSO: Colder winters and refugees – How changing ocean currents could impact Germany

It was also much too warm on the glaciers in 2023. “After the record ice loss in 2022, it was another exceptional year of loss in the Alps,” Copernicus and WMO wrote. In these two years, the glaciers in the Alps lost around 10 percent of their volume.

Interestingly, the excess meltwater may be boosting hydroelectricity production in the short term. According to the report, conditions for the production of green electricity in 2023 were very favourable, with its share of the total electricity mix at 43 percent, the highest seen so far.

Overall, seven percent more rain fell last year than average. It was one of the wettest years on record, the report said. 

In one third of the river network in Europe, water volumes have been recorded that exceeded the flood threshold. There were severe floods in Italy and Greece, among other places, and parts of northern Germany were affected at the end of the year.

Hamburg and the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein were among regions hardest hit by floods in Germany last year. Northern sections of the Elbe river rose high enough to submerge Hamburg’s fish market several times among other places.

READ ALSO: Germany hit by floods as October heat turns into icy spell

2024 likely to continue breaking heat records

The recent report by Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization is in agreement with a UN report published last month, which noted that last year came at the end of “the warmest 10-year period on record” according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

“There is a high probability that 2024 will again break the record of 2023”, WMO climate monitoring chief Omar Baddour said, according to Science Alert.

Another year of record breaking high temperatures means Germany can likely expect more and longer heatwaves in the late spring, summer and early autumn seasons. Higher average temperatures are also correlated with an increase in extreme weather events like extreme storms and floods in parts of the country.

In drier parts of Europe it means an increase in droughts and wildfires.

With reporting by DPA.

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