2018 was the hottest year ever recorded in Germany, the German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst - DWD) announced yesterday.

Record-breaking temperatures in Germany

In a statement, the DWD reported that 2018 was the warmest year of German weather recorded by the Weather Service in 138 years. The average temperature for the year reached a new record high of 10,5 degrees. The temperature rose above 30 degrees on a record 20 days.

The last time so many hot days were recorded was in 2003, when it reached 30 degrees on 29 days. The number of sunny days - defined as a day upon which the temperature is 25 degrees or above - also reached a record high of 74.

Inadequate rainfall and droughts

If that wasn’t concerning enough, even more alarming was the lack of adequate rainfall in 2018. As well as a prolonged drought during the summer, in winter it was also exceptionally dry in many areas of Germany. Overall, 2018 was the fourth-driest year ever recorded, with a mean rainfall of 586 litres per square metre.

All of this led to problems with farming and trade, as the drought wreaked havoc on crops and water levels plunged. On the River Rhine, which runs through the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf in Germany and is the country’s major shipping artery, services had to be suspended to stop boats from running aground.

Increasingly extreme weather in Germany

Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, the DWD Vice President Paul Becker warned that this report is a predictor of things to come. “In future, we will have to reckon with more frequent droughts in Germany”, he cautioned.

According to figures from the UN, the last four years have witnessed the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. This, they argue, is a clear sign of “continuing long-term climate change”.