Germany already experiencing serious consequences of climate change – weather service
Clean Energy Wire
Germany is already experiencing the consequences of climate change and undergoing accelerated warming, according to a report by the country’s National Meteorological Service (DWD). The DWD said it can already deduce an increase in extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall and droughts from observation data. “Time and again, it can be observed that while some regions struggle with flooding, others suffer from water shortages,” the DWD stated.
The 10 warmest years since 1881 have occurred in the past 25 years. Due to the temperature increase in recent years, Germany is confronted with more heat waves, which already endanger vulnerable population groups, especially in large cities and metropolitan areas, said Tobias Fuchs, DWD’s head of climate and environment. With an average of 10.9 degrees Celsius, 2024 was the warmest year in Germany since records began. Citing the changed annual mean temperatures as examples, Fuchs said what was extreme in the period between 1881 and 1990 was now normal. "The consequences of this accelerated climate change are already serious for Germany," he added.
At the same time, the variability of temperature and precipitation is increasing, said DWD. There are increasingly pronounced alternations between above-average wet and very dry years. The DWD has also observed extreme marine heat waves in the oceans over the past two years, particularly in areas of the North Atlantic and the North and Baltic Seas, which are now above-average warm. Warm oceans evaporate significantly more water vapor into a warmer atmosphere, leading to catastrophic heavy and persistent precipitation, Fuchs said.
Biodiversity is also coming under pressure due to rapid warming, as seen in ecosystems with low resilience to accelerated climate change, such as Germany's forests. The DWD also investigated the issue of "dark doldrums," a recent example of which occurred in November and December 2024 during periods of low wind and little sunshine. It said climate change is unlikely to increase such events in central Europe, and they coincide with stronger winds in Scandinavia, which makes an interconnected electricity grid more important.
