As of: 06/15/2022 4:59 p.m
Summer is back – and how: The German Weather Service expects temperatures of over 30 degrees at the weekend. France is expected to get even warmer, while Spain is already suffering from a heat wave.
A high pressure area will ensure midsummer weather in Germany in the coming days. “Increasingly warm to hot air masses are being brought in from the south and southwest,” said Jens Bonewitz from the forecast center of the German Weather Service (DWD). The highest temperatures are therefore expected at the weekend. Thunderstorms are also to be expected.
According to the meteorologist, there will be more clouds in the north and east on Thursday, individual showers and thunderstorms are possible from Bavaria to Saxony. The maximum values are 19 to 26 degrees in the northern half and 26 to 31 degrees in the southern half. According to the DWD, there will only be a few thunderstorms on the edge of the Alps on Friday, otherwise it will remain dry and warm to hot. The temperatures in the north are a maximum of 23 to 27 degrees, otherwise 27 to 32 degrees.
The weather forecast
6/15/2022 10:10 am
More than 36 degrees at the weekend
“At the weekend it will be really hot in the west and south-west with sometimes over 36 degrees,” said Bonewitz. Highs of 27 to 34 degrees are expected in the rest of the country, and 19 to 23 degrees on the sea. There could also be severe thunderstorms in the northwest and west, although the forecast is not yet certain.
On Sunday, the sometimes strong thunderstorms could then shift towards the center and south-east of the country. In the north-west it should then cool down with showery rain, while in the south-east half it will remain hot with maximum values of 32 to 35 degrees.
Again more than 40 degrees in Spain
In Spain, people have been suffering from a heat wave for the fifth day in a row. Temperatures should surpass 40 degrees today in parts of the country. The second highest heat alert level was orange for nine of the country’s 17 regions, according to the Spanish meteorological authority Aemet. 41 degrees were predicted for the city of Badajoz in the southwest of the country, 40 degrees were expected in Seville in Andalusia and 39 degrees in the capital Madrid.
Authorities recommended people to drink plenty of water, limit physical activities and stay in cool places whenever possible. During the current heat wave, the second in less than a month, temperatures are between seven and twelve degrees higher than usual for this time of year, Aemet spokesman Ruben del Campo said. “This is a very unusual situation. These temperatures are not normal for mid-June,” emphasized the spokesman.
Spain had already been hit by a heat wave at the end of May with temperatures up to 15 degrees above the seasonal average. According to scientists, heat waves are becoming more likely due to climate change. In the course of global warming, it is also to be expected that they will become more intensive and lengthy.
A slight cooling is expected in Spain for the weekend. The hot air masses should then move to the southwest of France. According to the weather service Météo France, the temperatures there should also exceed the 40-degree mark.
French government calls for solidarity
In view of the heat wave expected there, the French government called for “mindfulness and solidarity” with weaker fellow citizens. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said she was determined to “guarantee the protection of the most vulnerable”. The government has already taken precautions to protect the homeless and the elderly, government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire said. She announced a program for greening inner cities, for which 500 million euros are to be made available.
“The heat wave clearly shows the impact that climate change is already having on our everyday lives,” said Grégoire. She referred to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which warn of an increase in extreme weather phenomena. It could be the earliest heatwave of the year since weather records began in France.
Several French water suppliers called for water saving. They also appealed to the state to modernize the supply, for example through better detection of leaks in pipes and through seasonal tariffs. Better protection of wetlands and the fight against soil sealing are also needed. Restrictions already apply in a good third of France’s 101 departments. Depending on the warning level, the watering of gardens and fields is rationed; Cars can no longer be washed and private pools can no longer be filled.