Germany swelters in record-breaking heatwave as mercury hits 41.3°C
By Thomas Seythal
BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) – Germany braced for another day of blistering heat on Saturday as a punishing heatwave that has already caused dozens of deaths in Western Europe moved east, pushing the mercury past 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in multiple regions.
The national meteorological service said a preliminary record of 41.3°C was registered on Friday near Saarbruecken, close to the French border — the hottest June temperature ever measured in the country. Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany have all logged all-time highs this month, and the system is expected to test more records as it rolls across Germany toward Poland.
The extreme heat has upended daily life across much of the continent. In France, authorities reported dozens of heat-related deaths spanning all age groups. Temperatures above 40°C have disrupted rail travel and power generation, forced alcohol bans in some cities, shut schools, and postponed outdoor events.
In Germany, the weather service issued extreme heat warnings for nearly the entire country. Officials pleaded with the public to conserve water as the heatwave strains infrastructure.
“The heatwave is going to peak at the weekend, well over 40 degrees in some parts of Germany,” said Karsten Brandt, a meteorologist at forecasting site Donnerwetter.de.
The Ironman European Championship, a long-distance triathlon scheduled for Sunday in Frankfurt, shortened its cycling and running courses due to the heat, organizers said. Public service providers braced for buckling roads and swelling train tracks, with some moving to reduce traffic.
Free cancellations, suspended services
German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn gave customers the option to cancel long-distance travel bookings into early next week without charge, citing the heatwave. The company said its infrastructure faces “particular strain” from sun exposure, with added risk to signals, tracks, and overhead wires from thunderstorms and wildfires.
Another operator, National Express, said it would suspend trains on its Rhine-Ruhr-Express line on Saturday afternoon in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, as a preventative measure in case services came to an unplanned halt.
Andre Berghegger, chief executive of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, urged the public to use water sparingly. “We should rely on voluntary cooperation as long as possible; local authorities should only issue bans if that doesn’t work,” he told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.
The most extreme heat is forecast to begin fading by Sunday, with heavy thunderstorms expected. But across Europe, the toll has been heavy: cultural landmarks closed, farming suffered, and hospitals struggled to cope.
According to the Reuters Climate Monitor, the heatwave pushed temperatures up to 18°C above their seasonal average. It is being driven by a phenomenon known as an Omega block, which traps a bulging ball of hot air over a region for extended periods while cooler air circulates on its fringes.
Demand for electric fans has surged, and Asian air conditioning makers reported a European sales boom. Much of Northern Europe’s housing stock is designed to retain heat, not to cool down, leaving millions vulnerable.
The World Meteorological Organization said the heatwave will begin shifting by the end of the month, hitting Central Europe and the Balkans. Scientists emphasized that this week’s extreme heat would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, which made nighttime temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago.
(Reporting by Thomas Seythal, Reuters Bureaux; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Jan Harvey and Andrew Heavens)