Today is the hottest day of the heat wave in Bavaria
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| [Germany heat wave map 2022/Windy] |
On Tuesday, the thermometer in Duisburg, Germany, read 39.5 degrees, setting a new temperature record for the year 2022 in Germany. Today marks the hottest point of the heat wave that has been affecting Bavaria. The possibility that the 40-degree milestone may be broken is not completely dismissed by meteorologists.
Temperatures in Germany have consistently been well over 30 degrees, and the country is feeling the effects of the heat. On Tuesday, a new record high temperature for the year 2022 was recorded. At a weather station in Duisburg-Baerl, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the temperature on Tuesday afternoon was recorded as 39.5 degrees, as reported by the German Weather Service (DWD). The next highest temperature was recorded at 39.2 degrees in Tonisvorst, which is located on the Lower Rhine near Krefeld. In its rear was the town of Hohenbostel, located in Barsinghausen, close to Hanover (39.1 degrees). Temperatures have remained far lower in Bavaria than they had been; however, this is likely to alter on Wednesday.
The DWD said that Germany will be under a "high heat burden." The region extending from Saarland through Rhineland-Palatinate and into North Rhine-Westphalia served as the epicenter of the heat.
The day of June 19 was the warmest day of this year so far, according to the DWD's measurements in Cottbus and Dresden, where the temperature reached 39.2 degrees. The previous high temperature record for Germany was recorded on July 25, 2019, in Duisburg, and it was 41.2 degrees. In the state of Bavaria, the previous high temperature of 40.4 degrees was likewise attained in 2019 in Kahl am Main.
40 degrees in Bavaria on Wednesday not excluded
The heat wave is still going strong, and it is predicted to reach its zenith today in Bavaria, where temperatures will once again be in the range of 30 and 38 degrees. According to BR weather specialist Michael Sachweh, who was interviewed by BR24, it is also feasible to get temperatures of 39 degrees here and there in northern Bavaria, notably in Mainfranken. "I don't even want to rule out 40 degrees."
On the night before Thursday and on Thursday itself, a cold front will pass through our region, bringing with it a few showers and thunderstorms. This will be followed by the arrival of some cooler air, but on Thursday it will still be sufficient for temperatures of around 29 degrees, and on Friday they will level off at 32 degrees. The middle of summer will also occur this next weekend.
The drinking water supply might be put in jeopardy, according to the meteorologist Sachweh, if dry spells like the ones that are presently happening more regularly. According to what he indicated, there has not been any rain in Bavaria this summer for a period of four weeks. Because there was not enough water to dilute the contaminants in the water, the quality of the water worsened as a direct consequence of the declining water levels. "We are headed in the direction of a fish kill, and at some point in the future, if this continues, if this goes into August, we will also be rationed drinking water," he said. "We are moving in the direction of a fish kill."
The meteorologist anticipates an increase in the frequency of heat waves as well as an increase in the severity of temperatures in the future. "We are in fact seeing the continuation of a climatic trend over a longer period of time here." A high degree of caution has been issued for broad portions of Bavaria on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the ongoing dryness, which poses a significant threat of forest fires.
Very low water levels in Bavaria
According to statements made by Bavaria's Head of State Florian Herrmann (CSU) in Munich on Tuesday morning, the Bavarian cabinet also discussed the "severe drought that is prevailing at the moment." In the state of Free State, "low to extremely low groundwater levels" have been measured at around 70 percent of the available measurement locations. According to Herrmann, the water levels in around half of the country's rivers and lakes are low to very low.
On Monday, the low water guideline was updated with the announcement of the so-called yellow activation threshold. This entails, among other things, "that the water industry will intensify its monitoring of the situation," "in particular, there will be weekly reports from the water management offices, from the governments, and from the State Office for the Environment," and "that there will be more water treatment facilities built," among other things.
The head of the state chancellery has stated that the current countermeasures consist of "targeted storage management and also the transfer of water from the area of the Danube to the area of the Regnitz or Main." Nonetheless, Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr (free voters) highlighted at the cabinet meeting that there is presently to be expected no impairment of the water supply. Currently, no impairment of the water supply is to be expected.
Temperature record in Great Britain
The United Kingdom saw its first temperature reading that was higher than 40 degrees for the first time since records started being kept, which resulted in a variety of infrastructural problems. The temperature that was recorded at London's Heathrow Airport was 40,2 degrees, as stated by the meteorological service. Several fires broke out in London, and the city's fire service responded to put them out.
Since Monday, the United Kingdom has been experiencing abnormally high temperatures: for the first time, large parts of England have been at the highest warning level, and the second highest level has been declared for Wales and parts of Scotland. This has led to a number of health and safety concerns across the country. The Minister of Transport, Grant Schapps, has said that the heat is not something that public transportation was meant to handle. The operator of the rail network in Britain said that 62 degrees was the hottest temperature that has ever been recorded on a rail.
Even though temperatures in Spain, Portugal, and the south-western region of France dropped marginally, intense forest fires continued to blaze across those regions.