Sizzling Summers: Has the Heatwave Heat Eased Since the '70s and '80s? Let's Crack the Code!
Intense summer temperature: Reflecting on past experiences - What was the weather like during the 30-degree era?
Catch a glimpse of the upcoming heatwave in Germany as temperatures soar to a whopping 35°C! The German Weather Service (DWD) strongly advises steering clear of strenuous outdoor activities during midday heat. But is this heatwave a new normal, or was it commonplace in the 70s and 80s? Let's unravel the mystery!
Some folks argue that 30°C is just par for the course in summers during the '70s and '80s, happening regularly from May to September. Yet memories can deceive us, especially when major events stick out. But what about the "scorching days" of the '70s and '80s?
According to the DWD's weather data, a "scorching day" or "blistering day" is when the highest air temperature exceeds 30°C. Evidently, most summers in the '70s and '80s boasted only a smattering of such days, with significantly fewer in 1970 (2.0), 1977 (1.3), 1980 (1.5), and 1987 (1.6).
However, to comprehend the evolution, we must glance at climate phenomena over several decades. And rest assured, the DWD has us covered!
What does the big picture reveal?
Between 1991 and 2020, the average number of scorching days per summer in Germany landed at 8.9. Compare that to the preceding period (1961 to 1990), where the average was a modest 4.2 days.
Intriguingly, you'll find it occurred only three times in the 50 summers before the year 2000 when there were more than ten scorching days: 1976 (10.2), 1994 (16.3), and 1995 (10.5). The lowest ever recorded was 1956, with a pathetic 0.6 scorching days.
For a touch of comparison, there have already been eleven summers with over ten scorching days since the turn of the millennium. Most of those records were set in recent years, with 2018 boasting an impressive 20.4 scorching days. And 2024 recorded 12.5. It seems the number of scorching days in Germany has been steadily climbing uphill.
DWD on time series, scorching days in dropdown
- Heatwave
- Germany
- DWD
- Blistering Summers
- '70s
- '80s
- Berlin
- Scorching Day
- The increase in scorching days in Germany over the past few decades, as indicated by the German Weather Service (DWD), raises questions about the impact of climate change on our environment and health-and-wellness, prompting a need for a comprehensive environmental-science approach to address this issue.
- As the DWD data reveals, the '70s and '80s had significantly fewer scorching days compared to more recent years, suggesting that a community policy addressing climate change may be crucial to prevent such extreme weather events from becoming the new normal in the future.
