The average temperature across the country was 7.5C and was therefore 4C above the measured value of the international reference period from 1961 to 1990, announced the German Weather Service (DWD) on Tuesday. 

This also significantly exceeded the previous record from 2017 of 7.2C. 

Compared to the current and warmer reference period from 1991 to 2020, the increase was 2.9C. 

The last time there were two consecutive monthly records was in April and May of 2018, according to DWD.

The warmest states were North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland, which both boasted average temperatures of 8.3C in March.

But not all of Germany was graced with unusually warm weather: The weather service recorded a national low of -7.3C in Hoyerswerda, Saxony on March 19th.

“Neighbouring Lower Lusatia, on the other hand, experienced almost summer-like temperatures on the 30th,” it wrote, referring to a region in eastern Germany. 

Cottbus and Klitzschen near Torgau in northern Saxony reported the highest temperature in Germany, at 24.9C.

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Drier and sunnier weather

According to the DWD, there was far too little rain overall in March, or 46 litres per square metre. That’s only around 80 percent of the reference periods from 1961 to 1990 and from 1991 to 2020 (57 litres each). 

It was particularly dry in the eastern low mountain ranges and Western Pomerania. In some places, the DWD measured less than 10 litres per square metre. 

The highest daily total of 57.8 litres was recorded on March 12th at the Baiersbronn-Ruhestein station in the Black Forest.

With 120 hours of sunshine, March was sunnier than in the comparable period from 1961 to 1990 with 111 hours.  However, the DWD recorded a slight decrease compared to the period from 1991 to 2020 (127 hours). 

The sunniest month was recorded in Berlin: the German capital boasted 121 hours of sunshine. 

The month of April is off to a chilly and windy start, with most of the country seeing the mercury drop to the low double digits, especially in northern Germany. But temperatures are set to spike over the weekend into the low or even mid-20s in southern Germany.