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.

The German Weather Service (DWD) warned on Sunday in Offenbach of sometimes extreme heat stress in the Upper Rhine area in south-west Germany. Accordingly, considerable heat development was also to be expected in a broad strip from Baden-Württemberg to eastern Saxony.

At the same time, there was a warning of very high exposure to UV radiation, at least in some areas.

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.

According to the forecast, on this first day of summer there will be cumulus clouds and local showers and thunderstorms, especially in the south and south-west. In the northern half it will probably be 22 to 28 degrees warm, on the coasts it will stay a little cooler. To the south it will probably be hot again with 27 to 33 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.

Lifeguards warn of the dangers of swimming in unguarded waters. The spokesman for the state association of the German Life Saving Society (DLRG), Daniel Keip, told the German Press Agency: “We find again and again that bathers and swimmers overestimate their own abilities”. Water has no bars, that is sometimes forgotten, said Keip. And the further away the bathing spots are from other people, the further away the next help is.

Three people died in swimming accidents in Brandenburg on the Pentecost weekend. According to Keip, many such accidents happen out of carelessness, because people have the impression that they are efficient. The lifesaver recommended an old rule for bathing and swimming in sweltering heat: “Cool down before bathing, get used to the water temperature, don’t overstrain yourself.” Sunbathing for half an hour and then going straight into the water to cool down can put a strain on the circulation, Keip warned .

According to scientists, the increase in heat waves and droughts is a direct result of global warming. The intensity as well as the duration and frequency of these phenomena are increasing.

Climate change is leading to earlier heat waves, explained Clare Nullis from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva.