Only at the beginning of April, but in Burghausen it was already time to go swimming on the weekend. Although not yet as Burghausen tradition dictates, with a mayor who throws himself into the lake along with clergy and city council members. But because of the mild air, the gates at the Wöhrsee outdoor pool were opened, with a water temperature of just ten degrees.
Although the spring cleaning isn’t quite finished yet, explains Burghausen’s city spokeswoman Alexandra Königseder, the employees were enthusiastic about the two-day special opening given the predicted temperatures. One month before the official swim date.
The reason could be felt by everyone: This weekend in Bavaria it was probably warmer than ever since weather records began in the first third of April: a peak of 27.9 degrees was measured in Regensburg on Saturday, the German Weather Service reported (DWD) on Sunday. The highest value measured in the Free State in the first decade of the month from April 1st to 10th was a good one degree below: In 1961, 26.8 degrees were registered in Wasserburg. The 27.9 degrees now registered is a provisional number. The data will be checked again in the coming days. The DWD recorded the second highest value on Saturday at 27.8 degrees in Wielenbach in the Upper Bavarian district of Weilheim-Schongau, not far from Lake Starnberg. 6.1 degrees were measured on the Zugspitze on Saturday. Ski operations will continue there until May 1st. What brought general amusement, sunbathing and a very cold bathing experience at the Wöhrsee caused a warning in Rosenheim of a high risk of forest fires.
It’s still winter here: skiers are out on the Zugspitze in sunshine and mild temperatures.
(Photo: Ute Wessels/dpa)
Guido-Peter Wolz, head of the regional weather advisory department at the DWD Munich, says that the April summer weather is just a weather event that should not be given any particular importance when viewed individually – but one that fits into the “structure of the positive climate trend”. . In short: It’s getting warmer and warmer. This is undisputed and has “significant effects”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/.”The winter is getting shorter and shorter, and that has a lot to do with the vegetation.”
However, the farmers’ association gives the all-clear. Things are going well for farmers so far this year, says press spokesman Markus Drexler. It rained so much in winter that water supplies were replenished. The growing conditions for the plants are currently ideal.
Farmers are more worried about the coming ice saints and possible late frosts, like every year. The worst case scenario: If the temperatures persist, the plants will get a growth spurt. However, early ripening plants have worse chances in the event of frost than normally ripe ones. If frost occurs, the plants will suffer greater damage. “When plants are not ready yet, they can cope with frosts better,” says Drexler. Then they would have “survival strategies”.
Migratory birds, on the other hand, have fewer survival strategies, explains Stefanie Gansbühler from the State Association for Bird and Nature Conservation. If it continues to be very warm, these are weather anomalies that will cause migratory birds to return too early. It becomes particularly problematic when breeding sites are already occupied. Gansbühler uses swifts and sparrows as an example: If the swifts are too early and the sparrows are already breeding in the building niches of the swifts, the sparrows are thrown out by the swifts. You have to know: Swifts are very loyal to their location. Like humans, they live in a house that they find again and again, the same niche, year after year, even if they have wintered hundreds of kilometers away and the house has since been given a new coat of paint. The persistent heat has the additional side effect that the newly hatched swifts are too warm and they leave the nest before they have fledged. However, if they are left to their own devices, they have little chance of survival.