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STORM

Storm and hurricane-force winds kill three people across Germany

Windstorm Sebastian killed at least three people in Germany on Wednesday as hurricane-force winds of up to 150 kilometres per hour were recorded in the north of the country.

Published: 14 September 2017 09:29 CEST
Storm and hurricane-force winds kill three people across Germany
A woman in Berlin on Wednesday. Photo: DPA.

A man in a wheelchair was found dead in a river in the northern city of Hamburg, according to local firefighters.

Witnesses saw him fall into the water and despite a rescue effort that included divers, a boat and a helicopter, he could not be saved.

A pedestrian also died in Hamburg after he was hit by scaffolding that fell from the seventh floor of a building, police said. He was taken to hospital where he later died.

A 53-year-old man was the third person to be killed in the storm after being crushed by a tree near the west German spa town Brilon. The man was working in the forest when a 20-metre tall spruce tree fell on him, local police said.

The first autumn storm of the year also managed to uproot numerous trees across Germany. According to the Deutsche Bahn, trees had to be cleared from tracks and damaged overhead lines had to be repaired.

Hundreds of employees were deployed to repair the damage caused by the storm. Deutsche Bahn also provided stranded passengers with accommodation in Bremen, Dortmund, Hamburg and Hanover; some travellers were given soup and drinks.

A number of fire brigades were deployed in East Frisia and Bremen. Many ferry routes in the North Sea were also cancelled.

Several regions of Germany have issued warnings advising residents to stay home while emergency services clear roads and fix power outages.

Meanwhile on Thursday morning, commuters particularly in rush hour traffic in northern Germany will still be affected by the aftermath of the storm.

According to DB, four track lines in the Hamburg, Kiel and Lubeck area have been suspended and delays on several other train routes could be expected.

The German Weather Service (DWD) also warned that storms in the southwest of Germany could continue on Thursday. In the morning, there could be continuous rainfall with potential flooding in southern Hesse, parts of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

In Hamburg as well as in towns along the North Sea, winds of up to 85 kilometres per hour could pass through as well, though diminishing by the evening.

On Friday, thunderstorms and showers may be seen in northwestern Germany. According to DWD, wind speeds are expected to be moderate and will weaken into the weekend.

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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