2020 second hottest year on record in Germany – weather service

With an annual mean temperature of 10.4 degrees Celsius, 2020 is the second warmest year in Germany on record, reports the German Weather Service (DWD). This development confirms continued climate change, said the organisation. Only 2018 was slightly warmer, with an average of 10.5 degree Celsius. Worldwide, 2020 is likely to be one of three warmest years since recordings began in 1881, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The 2011-2020 decade will be the warmest on record, with the warmest six years all occuring since 2015, the report shows.

Tobias Fuchs, climate director of the DWD, said: "The very warm year 2020 should not leave us cold. The scientific climate facts from the National Meteorological Service are alarming. Climate protection is the order of the day. We must act now." For Germany, 2020 was also one of the sunniest and driest years on record, with nine out of the last ten years being too dry, DWD reports.

In 2018 and 2019 Germany experienced two years of extreme drought and heat, which caused significant agricultural crop losses, power plant curtailments, swathes of forest dying away and water levels in major rivers plunging below levels that allow inland navigation. These extreme weather events had a big impact on public perception regarding climate change threats for the country and are thought to have contributed greatly to the popularity of climate action protests.