After sweaty temperatures on Saturday, it could get even hotter in some parts of Germany this Sunday.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), up to 38 degrees can be expected in Jena and Cottbus, but not only the two cities in Thuringia and Brandenburg could top the record set the day before – so far the hottest day of the year.
Similarly high temperatures can also be expected in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria as well as Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. A disaster was even declared near the town of Treuenbrietzen in Brandenburg, because a forest fire there is getting worse and worse due to the acute drought and heat.
The midsummer weather drove many people to lakes or to the outdoor pool on Saturday. According to DWD information, the highest values ​​at the Waghäusel-Kirrlach measuring stations on the Upper Rhine (Baden-Württemberg) and in Bad Kreuznach (Rhineland-Palatinate) were registered in the late afternoon with 37.1 degrees.
Due to the intense heat and lack of rain, there is still a high risk of forest fires in some parts of Germany. How great the danger is was shown at Treuenbrietzen between Potsdam and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The situation there came to a head on Sunday night. The district administrator of the Potsdam-Mittelmark district had declared the disaster, said a fire department spokesman in Brandenburg/Havel.
The Bundeswehr took part in fighting the forest fire with a transport helicopter and announced on Twitter that they had dropped around 40,000 liters of water. The district had submitted an application for administrative assistance to help with firefighting, the Air Force tweeted. “We continue to fly tonight, then with night vision goggles. Full commitment!“.
In 2018, around 400 hectares of forest were destroyed in a forest fire in Treuenbrietzen. Flames raged in the forest southwest of Berlin for several days. Because of the major fire, more than 500 people had to leave the villages of Frohnsdorf, Klausdorf and Tiefenbrunnen.
But the heat chaos does not threaten everywhere and not all day on Sunday. After a hot start to the day, according to the forecast, more and more clouds are likely to swell from the afternoon, especially over the middle, in the south-west German mountains and in the Alps. Local thunderstorms and severe weather are possible.
The astronomical and also the calendar start of summer is on Tuesday (June 21). Then the sun reaches its northernmost point above the earth and at noon it reaches its highest point of the year.
