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WEATHER

Germany to see temperatures up to 20C after winter freeze

Just a few days ago there was tons of snow and frozen lakes. But this weekend spring-like weather is expected in most of the country.

Published: 19 February 2021 14:55 CET
Updated: 19 February 2021 16:30 CET
Germany to see temperatures up to 20C after winter freeze
People enjoying the sunshine at Langenargen Am Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg on February 17th. Photo: DPA

But police union bosses say they are worried people won't follow coronavirus rules in the sunshine.

Temperatures across Germany reached over 10C on Friday. The mercury is expected to climb higher on Saturday although there could be some showers, and it will remain chilly in some places, including the northeast.

The warmest areas will be in the west and on the northern edge of the low mountain ranges, with light to moderate winds.

READ ALSO: Germany embraces cold snap amid warnings over icy waterways

On Sunday highs of 19C are expected in Cologne – and the mercury could even hit 20C in some parts of the west locally. Temperatures of around 18C are expected in Hanover and Münster, while forecasters predict 16C for Frankfurt and 15C in Berlin.

On Sunday the southeast around Munich could be a big cooler with about 10C.

The German Weather Service (DWD) tweeted to say the spring-like weather comes after last week's winter weekend. Although it is still expected to be frosty overnight – so don't forget to wrap if you are spending time outside.

The arctic temperatures in recent weeks- which saw lows of 26.7C at one point – were brought to the region by the polar vortex split.

But a new weather front has arrived, bringing with it mild temperatures for the coming days.

READ ALSO: Why Germany is facing extreme winter weather this month

The spring-like weather is caused by a high pressure area dubbed “Ilonka”, which is moving in from North Africa, said forecaster Adrian Schmidt of Meteogroup.

Despite the February sun which can be strong, bathing in lakes is not yet the order of the day. “The lakes have to thaw out first,” said Schmidt – and they will still be extremely cold.

The weather will cool down towards the end of next week in Germany – although hopefully not to the levels we saw earlier this month. 

Police boss urges people to stick to rules

The spring-like forecast is causing some concern.

The German Police Union (DPolG) expects more people to break coronavirus contact rules because of the mild temperatures.

Currently a household is allowed to meet with one other person.

The nice weather could tempt people to become careless, said chairman Rainer Wendt. “Sun rays are not a Corona vaccine – some people forget that.”

He urged residents to observe distance rules and contact restrictions, and said police would take action against anyone found to be violating the rules.

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LIVING IN GERMANY

Living in Germany: Skilled worker shortage getting worse, Bundestag dome mix-up and beer culture

In this week's roundup we talk about the growing issue of Germany's worker shortage, an embarrassing political mix-up involving the Bundestag dome and the significance of German beer culture.

Published: 23 September 2023 08:46 CEST
Living in Germany: Skilled worker shortage getting worse, Bundestag dome mix-up and beer culture

Living in Germany is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points in Germany that you might not have heard about. Members can receive it directly to their inbox on Saturday.

Skilled worker shortage in Germany laid bare in new report

We published a story this week on a survey that shone a light on Germany’s recruitment problems. The latest ifo Business Survey, which keeps in touch with around 9,000 companies throughout Germany, found that the need for skilled workers is going up. According to the survey results, 43.1 percent of firms reported suffering from a shortage of qualified workers in July, up from 42.2 percent in April 2023. The situation will only get worse in future. The main issue is demographics – many people are leaving or are due to leave the workforce to retire – but not enough people are joining it. The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) calculated that the labour market is at risk of losing seven million people in Germany to retirement by 2035. 

To combat this, the German government has been working on an overhaul of immigration laws to make it easier for people to come to the country and work, as The Local has extensively reported on. Experts say the focus has to be on nations from outside of Europe because nearby countries, like Spain, Italy and France, are facing similar demographic issues. Meanwhile, in countries where traditionally people have moved to Germany for work – such as Poland and the Czech Republic – the labour market situation has improved, making emigration less of an attractive option. But Germany can’t just rely on immigration; more has to be done to get residents into the workforce. One way of doing that is to make work more attractive, whether it’s offering better pay or more perks.. A new initiative testing out a four-day work week in Germany could offer up a solution. Whatever the case, Germany will need to take action now to prevent a crisis in the future.

Tweet of the week

The opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) were left red-faced this week after they accidentally used an image of the Georgian palace instead of the German Bundestag in their new logo. The party then released a tweet poking fun at themselves, saying: “We had a lot of domes to choose from and have now picked the only right one.” 

Where is this?

Nuremberg

Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Karmann

Perhaps you recognise the architecture in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg in this photo. And if you look closely, you’ll spot workers trying to salvage a 100-year-old poplar tree that fell into the Pegnitz river on Wednesday night. No one was injured and there was no damage to the surrounding buildings including the Maximillian Bridge. The tree was a popular Nuremberg landmark. According to the city, these types of poplars can live for around 100 to 120 years. As they age, they become brittle and can break during storms.

Did you know?

Germans love their beer – and rightly so because it is delicious. But did you know how embedded beer culture is in Germany? Christina Schönberger, a brewing engineer at Nuremberg-based BarthHaas, a Hops supplier to brewers, told the Germany in Focus podcast recently that beer has been “an integral part of German culture for many centuries”. But she pointed out that there have been big changes over the years brought about by different influences. 

Germany still has many family-owned mid-size breweries in operation, as well as larger companies. “A big part of the family-owned companies date back to the 18-and-1900s where the possibility was given to basically, in an industrial fashion, produce bottom fermented beers (such as pilsner and lager)  – that’s when a lot of breweries opened up,” said Schönberger. “We also still have a couple of breweries that go back to the 10th, 11th or 12th centuries from monasteries where there were a lot of monks involved in brewing in a religious context.”

Schönberger said it’s only in the last 200-300 years that wheat beers emerged into the culture. There have been “a lot of influences throughout the centuries that brought beer to the level of cultural importance that it has today,” she said. Meanwhile, beer experts are noticing a change in trends, with more Germans drinking alcohol-free beer. “I think it’s very good because alcohol is actually the only part of beer that doesn’t make beer a super healthy drink,” said Schönberger.

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