Climate change
Record weather year 2023 was clearly too warm and too wet
2023 was the warmest year in Germany since records began in 1881. Photo
© Thomas Warnack/dpa
The weather in the year that is now coming to an end was warm and humid with lots of precipitation instead of hot and dry. The average temperature was 10.6 degrees – a record temperature. Large amounts of snow and rain in December led to the current flood.
The year 2023 has stood out in several ways when it comes to weather. With an average temperature of 10.6 degrees, according to the German Weather Service (DWD), it was the warmest year since measurements began – at 2.4 degrees, the value was significantly higher than that of the internationally valid reference period from 1961 to 1990, as shown in the preliminary annual balance sheet DWD shows. With Floods in many parts of the country are ending the year. According to the DWD, 2023 could currently reach sixth place in the series of wettest years.
Globally, a record year for temperatures is expected. “Climate change continues unabated,” warned the DWD climate and environment board member, Tobias Fuchs, and called for action. Climate protection must be intensified.
The average temperature measured in Germany also exceeded the values of the current and warmer comparison period from 1991 to 2020, the increase was 1.3 degrees. It was already exceptionally warm in Germany in 2022: with an annual mean temperature of 10.5 degrees, 2022 was on a par with the then record holder 2018. Average values can be calculated for Germany since 1881.
The winter was a total failure
Every single month in 2023 was too warm. “A record mild start to the year and the subsequent winter failure gave an idea of what a warm year would be ahead,” says the DWD review. 38.8 degrees was the nationwide maximum, measured on July 15th in Möhrendorf-Kleinseebach in Central Franconia. September was the warmest since 1881, October brought the hottest days of more than 30 degrees since measurements began. The coldest so far was on December 3rd in Gottfrieding in Lower Bavaria with minus 18.9 degrees.
In 2023, the focus was not on drought and heat waves, but rather on warm, humid conditions with high amounts of precipitation. Around 958 liters per square meter were measured – an increase of more than a fifth compared to both reference periods.
The weather service recorded eight months with excess precipitation – the exceptions were February, May, June and September. November was the second wettest since 1881. According to the DWD, “remarkably high amounts of precipitation” in December ultimately led to the current flood situation. According to preliminary data, the month could rank tenth among the wettest months since 1881; In Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt it was probably the wettest December since measurements began.
Precipitation is distributed very differently
The situation in the flood areas is currently still threatening. The DWD expects further rain, but in decreasing quantities. 2023 is forecast to end with changeable, wet and windy weather that will be unseasonably mild.
Rainfall was distributed very differently over the course of the year. While more than 2,000 liters per square meter came together along the Alps, in the Black Forest and in the Bergisches Land, in the northeast it was around 600 liters. A storm brought Bad Berneck in the Fichtelgebirge on June 22nd the highest daily rainfall of the year so far with 120.7 liters.
At around 1,764 hours, the sun shone significantly longer than in the comparable periods. According to the information, the increase was almost 15 percent (period 1961 to 1990) or around 5 percent (period 1991 to 2020). The south and the coasts received the most sun with more than 2000 hours, while the low mountain ranges received the least with around 1600 hours. June and September were very sunny, November was rather cloudy.