Highs of 28C expected in Germany on May 1 holiday

People across Germany can expect highs of between 27 and 28 degrees celsius on the May 1 public holiday, according to a German Weather Service (DWD) forecast.

DWD forecasts 28C for May 1 public holiday

Spring has only just arrived, and summer temperatures are making their way to Germany. As the week progresses, temperatures of between 22 and 25 degrees will warm everywhere from Munich to Hamburg, Saarbrücken to Berlin.

Moving into the Tag der Arbeit (May Day) public holiday on May 1, locals in Cologne and Frankfurt can expect highs of 28 degrees. Highs of 27 degrees are forecast for Berlin, Leipzig, Hanover, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Saarbrücken, while those in Hamburg, Bremen and Dresden will see intermittent sunshine and highs of 26 degrees.

If you’ll be enjoying your public holiday outside, take care as the sun will be particularly strong. An expected UV index of 5 in southern federal states and 4 in northern federal states means that you could catch a sunburn in as little as 25 minutes without any sun protection.

Droughts continue in Germany after low rainfall in early 2025

The weather across Germany in early 2025 has been marked by low precipitation, with less rainfall than usual in many regions. 

“Drought in the early months of the year has more grave consequences than in the middle of summer, because germ buds do not yet have a stretching root system and the critical germination stage is irresversibly disrupted,” Katrin Drastig of the Institute for Agriculture Technology wrote in an announcement from the German Science Media centre.

In the same release, Til Feike of the Julius Kühn Institute for crop research added that drought weather early in the year can be advantageous if enough rain falls in April and May, because farmers can work in dry weather conditions, planning is simpler, and surfaces are easy to drive over.