Record heatwave grips Germany: 41.5°C, ten drown, rail network strained
A weekend of extreme heat broke temperature records across Germany, with 41.5°C in Saxony-Anhalt marking the country's hottest day. At least ten people died in swimming accidents and rail services buckled under the strain.
Record-breaking temperatures
On Friday, the DWD station in Saarbrücken-Burbach registered 41.3°C, a preliminary all-time German record. The mark lasted only a day: Saturday brought 41.4°C at the same site, then 41.5°C in Möckern-Drewitz (Saxony-Anhalt) at 4:20 p.m., setting a new national high. At 250 DWD stations, temperatures hit all-time highs, with 46 stations exceeding 40°C. The previous June record (39.6°C in 2019) was also shattered.
- DWD station in Saarbrücken-Burbach records 41.3°C, a preliminary all-time German high.
- Same station hits 41.4°C, breaking the previous day's record.
- Möckern-Drewitz reaches 41.5°C, becoming Germany’s new all-time temperature record.
- Kubschütz records the warmest night in German history with a low of 29.4°C.
The night to Sunday offered no relief. Kubschütz in eastern Saxony recorded a low of 29.4°C, the warmest night since German records began, surpassing the 27.2°C from August 2003. In Bad Bergzabern (Rhineland-Palatinate) the temperature did not drop below 26.9°C.
Swimming fatalities
At least ten people drowned in lakes and rivers across Germany since Friday, the result of many seeking relief from the heat. Incidents occurred in Heidelberg, near Mannheim, in Berlin, in Herne (a six-year-old), near Frankfurt, Dortmund, Hannover, at Lake Constance, near Düren and in Düsseldorf. The victims ranged in age from eight to 51.
Rail network under extreme strain
Deutsche Bahn and other operators urged passengers to avoid non-essential travel as the infrastructure suffered. On Saturday evening, a tree brought down by a storm fell onto an overhead line in Prignitz (Brandenburg), trapping more than 600 passengers on a Czech train without air conditioning. Three people were hospitalized with circulatory problems, according to Kreisbrandmeister Christian Reisinger. In Rhineland-Palatinate, regional services saw delays and cancellations, while in Bavaria lightning strikes temporarily restricted rail operations.
Emergency services in many cities were pushed to their limits. The Essen fire department handled roughly 440 call-outs on Saturday, double the daily average. In Mainz, fire crews reported an unusually high number of heat-related emergencies and assisted a local hospital with ventilation measures.
Germany is inadequately prepared for current and future heatwaves.
Fires and looming storms
Dry conditions fueled multiple wildfires. In the Gohrischheide on the Saxony-Brandenburg border, a fire on a former military training area littered with unexploded ordnance flared up again, preventing firefighters from entering the zone. Near Blankenburg in the Harz mountains, 4.5 hectares of forest burned, tackled by 120 personnel and two firefighting aircraft. In Thuringia, a six-hectare blaze on old mining land sent smoke as far as Leipzig. In Bad Kreuznach (Rhineland-Palatinate), a whole village was evacuated when a forest fire threatened an area containing old munitions.
The German Weather Service (DWD) warned that the heat would break with severe thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon into Monday, bringing rainfall of up to 40 litres per square metre in an hour (locally 60 litres), large hail, and gusts reaching 100 km/h. In Belgium, the same weather system toppled a tree onto a car in La Hulpe, killing one person, while Brussels firefighters responded to nearly 100 calls for fallen trees and flooded streets.
