Sunny, but also too warm and too dry – that was March in Bavaria. As the German Weather Service (DWD) announced on Tuesday in Offenbach, a temperature record was set in the Free State last month. An average of 7.1 degrees Celsius was measured, 4.2 degrees above the reference value for March.
The reference temperature of 2.9 degrees is the average for the years 1961 to 1990. The comparison is intended to document the effects of long-term climate change. According to meteorologists, the DWD stations Regensburg and Munich City recorded new records on March 30th with temperatures of 24 and 24.5 degrees respectively. It was particularly warm throughout the month, especially in the Alps and the southern Bavarian Forest.
The rainfall varied greatly. Overall, it was too dry at 48 liters per square meter, the reference value is 62 liters. However, the Alps and the foothills had more than 100 liters, while in the Upper Palatinate, less than 15 liters were measured in some cases. The sun shone for a total of 132 hours in Bavaria, the reference value is 119 hours.
Nationwide, the weather service also recorded the warmest March since measurements began in 1881. The average temperature was 7.5 degrees, which was 4 degrees above the value of the internationally valid reference period 1961 to 1990. This was in comparison to the later and warmer comparison period from 1991 to 2020 Plus at 2.9 degrees. February had already brought a temperature record in Germany. According to the DWD, the last time there were two consecutive monthly records was in 2018, in April and May.