Germany's record heat
Germany records hottest night at 29.4°C; Drewitz sets new national high of 41.5°C
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Germany just broke two historic records in less than 24 hours. On Saturday, June 27, the station in Drewitz (Saxony-Anhalt) hit **41.5°C** — the highest temperature ever recorded in the country since records began in 1881, according to Deutscher Wetterdienst. Then, before dawn on Sunday, the town of Kubschütz in Saxony refused to cool below **29.4°C**, making it the warmest night in German history.
The culprit is an "Omega Heat Dome" — a high-pressure system that traps hot air like a lid on a pot. It has paralyzed rail travel, sparked major wildfires, and pushed public health systems to the edge. Over **150 million people** across Europe are facing temperatures above 35°C, BBC News reported.
Two Records Shattered in Under 24 Hours
Before this weekend, Germany's hottest day on record was 41.2°C, set in July 2019. Drewitz beat that by 0.3 degrees on Saturday afternoon at 4:20 PM. That same day, Berlin-Tempelhof hit 39.9°C — a new all-time high for the capital, dpa reported. A day earlier, five different German weather stations had already crossed 40°C on June 26.
The overnight record is even more striking. The previous warmest night ever recorded in Germany was 27.2°C, set in August 2003 on Weinbiet mountain. Kubschütz smashed that by more than two full degrees. Scientists call these "tropical nights" — when temperatures stay above 25°C — the deadliest part of a heatwave, because the body never gets a chance to recover, according to El Periódico.
Infrastructure Buckles Under the Extreme Heat
Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state-owned rail operator, took the rare step of allowing free cancellations on all long-distance trains. A DB spokesperson said: "The transport infrastructure in Germany is severely affected by the record heat... Rail traffic is also suffering from the extreme temperatures," as reported by The Guardian. The A2 Autobahn near Ziesar was also forced to close after concrete slabs expanded and shattered — a phenomenon engineers call "blow-ups."
Berlin police deployed water cannons to spray cooling mist on pedestrians as the city neared 40°C. In Dormagen, a nursing home was evacuated after indoor temperatures hit 35°C. The city also activated its "Hitzehilfe" (Heat Relief) program, distributing water and medical aid to elderly and homeless residents, Levante-EMV reported.
Wildfires Erupt and WWII Ordnance Detonates in Forests
The heat triggered large wildfires in Gohrischheide (Saxony) and Traisen (Rhineland-Palatinate). Wildfire warning levels hit **Level 5** — the maximum — across Berlin and Brandenburg, according to Diario de Mallorca. In Traisen, things took a dangerous turn: unexploded WWII bombs buried in forest soil began detonating due to the heat, forcing emergency evacuations of nearby residents.
The same weather system has already killed more than **1,000 people** in France, according to Public Health France data cited by La Opinión de Málaga. Meteorologist Tim Staeger (ARD) warned that such intense heat arriving in June — before the traditional peak of summer — is "a phenomenon that becomes possible in the course of climate change."
Scientists Say This Heat Was 'Virtually Impossible' Decades Ago
The World Weather Attribution group released a rapid study concluding this heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" 50 years ago. Today, it is **200 times more likely** due to human-caused climate change, according to El Correo Web. Europe is now the world's fastest-warming continent, having heated up roughly 2°C since the 1976 heatwave.
German Green lawmaker Katrin Göring-Eckardt called the event not a seasonal inconvenience but a **"health crisis,"** urging immediate federal action to protect the elderly and unhoused. The DWD has cautioned that the 41.5°C record remains "provisional" until sensors are inspected for heat-related errors — but few scientists expect the number to change, Diario Córdoba noted.
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