Germany is facing the next regional heat wave. “It will be hot throughout the country until the middle of the week, and then it will cool down in the second half of the week. The southwest is excluded, where the hot air will probably stay,” said Jacqueline Kernn, meteorologist at the German Weather Service (DWD), on Sunday. This could also affect health: “The warmer it gets, the greater the strain on the organism. Older people and the homeless in particular are more vulnerable.”
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has warned of the impending heat wave in Germany and the associated dangers. “We have to start now to protect the elderly and sick people from the mega heat wave,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
It is necessary to obtain supplies of liquid and fans. The health politician also recommended talking about the importance of hydration. You have to be “available”. According to Lauterbach, this heat wave could bring many fatalities.
Some meteorologists are expecting an extraordinary one for mid-July heat in Germany. The ZDF weather expert Özden Terli is also alarmed: “I have never seen such temperatures for Germany in a weather model,” writes the meteorologist on Twitter.
According to weather models, maximum temperatures could be reached in Germany from Sunday (July 17) to Saturday (July 23). Saturday would therefore be the hottest day. Up to 40 degrees are possible. According to Terli, however, these are not predictions. The meteorologist therefore advises to wait and see.
Heat wave rolling towards Europe: Up to 48 degrees in France?
In other parts of Europe, temperatures could rise even more extreme – up to 43 degrees in the UK and up to 48 degrees in France according to some weather models. Meteorologist Terli expects that there will be similar heat waves in the coming years. “The Climate crisis is progressing and the uncertainties are not on our side,” says Terli.
Experts also recommend not leaving the house without a hat when temperatures peak at 35 to 40 degrees. There is a risk of heat stroke. The DWD, however, considers statements about an impending record heat to be “frivolous”. A heat wave is possible in mid-July, but: “How strong and how long this will be cannot be reliably predicted today.” The models were still “far apart”, according to the DWD.
In the years 2018 to 2020, high summer temperatures led to thousands of heat-related deaths in Germany, according to a recently published study. For the first time since the study period began in 1992, excess mortality due to heat has occurred in three consecutive years, researchers wrote Robert Koch Institute (RKI)Federal Environment Agency (Uba) and German Weather Service (DWD) in early July in Deutsches Ärzteblatt.
Excessive heat can put a heavy strain on the cardiovascular system
High temperatures can put a lot of strain on the cardiovascular system, among other things, and exacerbate existing symptoms such as respiratory diseases. Since heat is rarely recognized as the direct cause of death, the authors of the study used statistical methods for their analysis.
Kernn said on Sunday that forecasts are still uncertain until next weekend. One cannot yet speak of a “record heat” or “mega heat”. In view of the “very hot air from the southwest”, temperatures above 34 degrees are also possible.
Kernn referred to the website hitzewarnungen.de, on which the official heat warnings of the German Weather Service can be seen. No warnings had been issued there on Sunday afternoon until Friday.
So far, the DWD is expecting maximum temperatures of 25 to 31 degrees on Wednesday, and up to 34 degrees in the south-west. The extreme north should remain milder at a maximum of 20 to 25 degrees. After a brief cooling in large parts of Germany, the temperatures then climb again: “For the weekend, the new high will shift to Central Europe again and the air will warm up everywhere again,” said Kernn. It could then be hot and sunny next weekend, it said. In addition, apart from the extreme north and extreme south, there is currently a severe drought. “In some regions in western and southwestern Germany, not a drop has fallen this month,” said Kernn. (with dpa)