GERMAN WEATHER IN 2024
Record temperatures and rainfall in 2024 caused catastrophic flooding in many parts of Germany
2024’s unusually high average temperatures and record rainfalls resulted in flooding and caused thunderstorms and gustnadoes (photo)
January 2025: 2024 was the warmest year in Germany since records began in 1881. It was also significantly wetter than usual. According to the German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst DWD), the average temperature between January and December 2024 was 10.9 degrees. That was 2.7 degrees more than the average from 1961 to 1990 and 1.6 degrees more than from 1991 to 2020.
According to evaluations by the DWD, some 903 litres per square metre of precipitation fell across the country in 2024. This is around 110 litres more than the average for the years 1961 to 2020, while the sun shone slightly less than usual at 1,507 hours.
Uwe Kirsche, DWD press spokesperson, said: “What is particularly alarming is that 2024 exceeded the previous year by an extraordinary 0.3 degrees. This is accelerated climate change.”
The very mild winter of 2023/2024 and the record-breaking warm spring also brought unusually high precipitation levels. 2024 was a much wetter than usual year in Germany. The duration of sunshine was slightly above the typical average for this country.
The spring also went down in the DWD's climate statistics as the warmest since measurements began. The summer was also remarkably warm - August was even one of the four warmest since 1881. In September, heat records in the northeast set new standards, and the subsequent average autumn temperature, which was significantly too high, completed the character of the record-breaking warm year.
2024 with some extremely wet periods of precipitation, high water and flooding’ According to evaluations by the DWD, a good 903 litres per square metre (l/m²) of precipitation fell in 2024. This was significantly more than the average for the reference periods of 1961 to 1990, with 789 l/m² and 1991 to 2020, with 791 l/m².
The year began with winter flooding in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt. Winter and spring were particularly rainy, with the hydrological winter half-year (November 2023 to April 2024) being the wettest in Germany since measurements began. Over the year, the DWD measured the highest amounts on the edge of the Alps and in the Black Forest, with over 2600 l/m² locally, while the northeast of the country remained comparatively dry, with regional totals below 500 litres/m².
Sunshine in 2024 was slightly above climatological expectations. At just under 1,700 hours, sunshine duration in 2024 was above the target of 1544 hours (period 1961 to 1990). This also applies in comparison to the more recent reference period 1991 to 2020 (1665 hours). With up to 2,000 hours of sunshine, the highest values in Germany were measured from the Leipzig lowland bay to Upper Lusatia and the Baltic Sea coast in particular. In parts of western Germany, on the other hand, the sun often only shone for around 1500 hours.
The weather in the federal states (Bundesländer)
Baden-Württemberg
In Baden-Württemberg, 2024 was the warmest year since measurements began in 1881. With an average temperature of 10.8 degrees, the record value of 10.7 degrees from 2023 was exceeded last year.
In 2024, Baden-Württemberg experienced the mildest winter since measurements began. A very wintry phase in the second and third week of January initially brought icy temperatures. The nationwide annual low of minus 19.5 degrees was measured in Leutkirch-Herlazhofen (Ravensburg district) on 20 January.
February then brought a temperature deviation of plus 6 degrees and heralded the start of a record-breaking warm spring. According to the DWD, the summer was also too hot, sometimes characterised by heavy thunderstorms. The highest temperature in Germany for 2024 was measured at 36.5 degrees on 13 August in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Bayern (Bavaria)
Temperatures in Bavaria reached a new average record in 2024. The German Weather Service reported an average temperature of 10.3 degrees. This is the second time in a row that the ten-degree mark has been exceeded. At the same time, precipitation rose by twelve per cent above the long-term average. This is accelerated climate change.’ May and September, in particular, were far too wet in Bavaria. This resulted, among other things, in flooding on the Danube in June.
Berlin & Brandenburg
Heat record in Berlin and Brandenburg: the average temperature in 2024 was higher than since measurements began. The year 2024 was the warmest in Berlin and Brandenburg since comprehensive measurements began in 1881, but it was also too wet, according to an assessment by the German Weather Service (DWD).
According to the report, the average temperature in the German capital was 11.9 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degrees above the value for the reference period from 1961 to 1990. In Brandenburg, the average temperature was 11.4 degrees. It was, therefore, 2.7 degrees higher than the long-term average.
According to the DWD, the previous record year in the region was 2019, when the DWD recorded an average temperature of 11.1 degrees for Berlin and Brandenburg combined. Separate figures for 2019 for the two federal states are not available.
In both states, meteorologists recorded a rather mild winter and a rather warm spring in 2024. In September, there was a heatwave with peak values of 34.4 degrees in Berlin.
In Berlin, 582 litres of rain per square metre fell in 2024, slightly more than the average for the internationally valid reference period from 1961 to 1990 (573 litres). In Brandenburg, the annual precipitation in 2024 totalled around 600 litres per square metre. This is also more than the reference value (557 litres).
Hamburg & Schleswig Holstein
Hamburg experienced a record average temperature in 2024, making it one of the warmest regions in Germany. The average of 11.4 degrees in the Hanseatic city was only surpassed by Berlin and Bremen, the German Weather Service wrote in its annual weather report. Hamburg thus experienced the warmest year since measurements began in 1881. In the internationally recognised reference period from 1961 to 1990, the average temperature in the Hanseatic city was 8.8 degrees.
The warmth was accompanied by large amounts of rain, which also led to localised flooding in individual events. Except for March and December, which were drier, the remaining months were, in some cases, unusually rainy. Around 993 litres per square metre fell in 2024. According to the statistics, 750 litres per square metre would have been expected.
Things didn't look much different in Schleswig-Holstein either: Germany's northernmost federal state experienced the warmest year since 1881. This was not reflected in long periods of summer heat but in the average temperature of 10.8 degrees. This means that the north was only 0.1 degrees below the national average of 10.9 degrees, according to the DWD. In Schleswig-Holstein, the average temperature in the internationally recognised reference period from 1961 to 1990 was 8.3 degrees.
Hessen (Hesse)
In Hesse, 2024 began with the second mildest winter ever recorded. February set a new temperature record. According to the DWD, a new record was also set for the entire spring. In summer, August brought ‘torrential’ rainfall. Trendelburg in northern Hesse reported the highest daily total of the year in Germany, with 169.8 litres per square metre on 1 August. Overall, the DWD measured an average of 868 litres per square metre for the year 2024 in Hesse, which is significantly more than the target from the reference period of 793 litres per square metre.
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)
The year 2024 began in Lower Saxony with flooded cellars, roads and fields. However, the flood was just one of several striking weather events. According to official figures, the Christmas flood of 2023/2024 was one of the worst natural disasters the state has ever experienced. Historic levels of rainfall, nationwide flooding and immense damage called on all available resources in the country and many more beyond. The financial damage was well more than 100 million euros.
Nordrhein-Wesrfalen (North-Rhine Westphalia)
The weather in NRW in 2024 was exceptionally warm and, at the same time, characterised by high rainfalls. With an average temperature of 11.2 degrees, NRW equalled the record values of 2022 and 2023, according to the DWD.
The measured average temperature of 11.2 degrees is well above the reference value of 9 degrees from the period 1961 to 1990. The mild winter of 2023/2024 already indicated the trend towards warmth. February was particularly striking, with temperatures comparable to a typical April month. March and spring also continued this trend with record-breaking high temperatures. A changeable summer was followed by an autumn that was also too warm.
Rheinland-Pflalz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
An average of 10.9 degrees was measured in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2024. This corresponds to the average temperature for the whole of Germany. This is 2.7 degrees above the value of the internationally recognised reference period from 1961 to 1990. Compared to the current and warmer reference period from 1991 to 2020, the increase was 1.6 degrees.
According to the DWD, it was remarkably warm in spring and August. Spring had already begun in February. On 13 August, the thermometer in Bad Neuenahr rose to 36.5 degrees, setting the nationwide heat record for the year.
Saarland
The year 2024 was far too warm and far too wet in Saarland. The average temperature was 11.2 degrees, well above the long-term average of 8.9 degrees. The value of 11.2 degrees for the whole year is not a record for Saarland - the year 2022 was the warmest here to date at 11.6 degrees.
Sachsen (Saxony)
Saxony had already experienced record temperatures in 2023 - but 2024 set new standards with even higher values and extreme weather events. Weather experts reported record warmth for Saxony in 2024. The average temperature was 10.7 degrees Celsius. The previous average for the international reference period from 1961 to 1990 was 8.1 degrees Celsius. Last winter was the second mildest since records began, followed by a record-warm spring. And on 4 September, Leipzig reported a new heat record for the month at 34.9 degrees.
With a daily rainfall of more than 100 litres per square metre, an extremely heavy rainfall event between Dresden and the Eastern Ore Mountains caused flooding on 18 August. A total of 752 litres of precipitation per square metre fell in Saxony, which is above the long-term average of 699 litres.
Autumn continued the unusually warm temperatures.
Thüringen (Thuringia)
Thuringia had already set a temperature record in 2023. Now, it's gone up again. Exceptionally warm days in February and spring brought Thuringia another temperature record in 2024. Compared to the previous year, the average value climbed by 0.3 degrees to 10.4 degrees.
This was one of the lowest values in a comparison of the federal states. Across Germany, the average values also climbed by 0.3 degrees to a record 10.9 degrees. ‘This is accelerated climate change,’ explained DWD spokesperson Uwe Kirsche in Offenbach. In Thuringia, the peak value was mainly the result of record temperatures in February and spring, he added. August was the second warmest since records began. And autumn was also unusually warm. On 4 September, 34.6 degrees were measured in Tegkwitz in Altenburger Land.
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Weather Service)
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