German heatwave

Sunflowers at sunrise in Munich on Wednesday morning. Photo: DPA

 From The Local.de.

For several days in a row, temperatures around Germany have been well over 30C. When will the heat let up?

The weather in Germany continues to leave us all sweltering with temperatures up to 36C expected on Wednesday, as well as a few storms in some parts of the country.

And brace yourselves: the ‘Hitze’ is far from over. 

"What is striking about this heatwave is the endurance. At least until Wednesday one week from now, it will simply remain very hot,” said meteorologist Dominik Jung to the weather portal wetter.net. 

“And even after that it continues to be quite warm with flashes of extreme heat,” said Jung, adding that there are no signs of significant cooling down until August 21st. 

The heatwave also perpetuates the dry weather, said Jung, as there has not been enough rain throughout the year.

Germany is heading for an extreme drought for the third year in a row, with a risk of forest fires in many parts of the country, such as Berlin's neighbouring Brandenburg.

"It could hardly be worse," said Jung. "And while everyone is cheering that it will be so beautiful in the summer, nature, forests and agriculture continue to suffer.

"The forest has already suffered a great deal of damage from the drought so far.”

What was that, again?  Oh, there's no such thing as global warming?  You mean the heatwaves in Europe and Siberia and the Arctic aren't happening.....?