Weather in Germany: Up to 38 degrees – Police water cannons for plants

Booth: 19:09 | Play time: 3 minutes

E s gets hotter and hotter – and at least in the days to come there is almost no cooling in sight. "By Friday, maximum values ​​should reach 38 degrees," said meteorologist Adrian Leyser of the German Meteorological Service (DWD). The hottest is probably "somewhere in the West between the Cologne Bay and the Lower Rhine". Even if they are not, the maximum values ​​are above 30 degrees. "A little less pleasant, it's in the south of Bavaria and on the onshore wind on the lake," said the meteorologist. Hot weather with heavy rain is possible, but rare.

Even at night, it remains tropical: in Hamburg, the thermometer indicated 23 degrees that night, 22 degrees in Saarland and 20 degrees in Berlin. In the west and in metropolitan areas, it will never cool below 20 degrees in the coming days.

Doctors advised caution because of temperatures. The elderly, babies and the chronically ill are particularly exposed, Malteser Hilfsdienst warned. From a temperature of 37 degrees with simultaneous high humidity, control of body temperature can be overwhelmed. It threatened insolation, heat stroke, exhaustion and circulatory insufficiency.

The tense weather has already caused disruptions in air traffic. Due to the damage caused by the heat on the runway, Hannover Airport had to be closed Tuesday, 85 arrivals and departures were canceled. After a repair, the operation resumed Wednesday morning

The heat also poses problems for agriculture. Joachim Rukwied, director of the German Farmers Association, warned the RBB against crop failures by 20 percent on average. He called on the policy to declare the state of emergency. This was the precondition for quick financial badistance for farmers.

Experts say huge forest fires are unlikely

In Hamburg's municipal park, plants were watered with two police water cannons. "The water in the tanks has to be replaced regularly, which was due again," said police spokesman Heike Uhde. The precious drinking water wants to be used wisely and in favor of the environment. At noon he reigned in Hamburg with temperatures around 33 ° C.

Due to the continuing drought is also warned of the high forest and Feldbrandgefahr. Across Brandenburg, the highest level of forest fire risk was declared Thursday. However, fires in the forest and up to a distance of 50 meters to the edge of the forest are strictly prohibited. Many campsites have imposed bans on barbecues.

In Lower Saxony, the fire brigade's planes launched their first surveillance flights this summer. On board, besides the pilot, an air observer and a forestry worker, said a spokesman for the state brigade in Hannover.

Huge forest fires are currently very rare in Germany and Greece. Hartmut Ziebs, President of the German Association of Firefighters, and Astrid Uhlmann, Head of the Forest and Wood Department of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food, have taken many measures to protect and observe forests

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In Saxony, authorities have asked for a soft use because of the drop in water levels. Heat, lack of precipitation and high rates of evaporation have led to "tense hydrological conditions". In some districts, the responsible departments have already banned the water supply of water courses to protect the water supply, said the Ministry of the Environment.

Only the weekend, some cooling is in sight. The high altitude over northern Europe migrates to Russia and gives way to extensions of a low pressure north complex. For next week, the weather service "only" with expected peak values ​​of 30 degrees.

What is currently considered an unusually hot summer could be in the Potsdam Institute's estimate for climate impact research. "In Germany, the temperature has risen by an average of 1.4 degrees since the industrial revolution," said Fred Hattermann, researcher on climate impacts. It makes sense to plant more trees in cities to provide enough shade.