Berlin: The heat wave that is sweeping across Europe continues to wreak havoc in Germany, the country’s meteorological service (DWD) has said here.
The “focus of the heat is shifting further eastward,” DWD said on Twitter.
Tuesday was the hottest day in Germany so far in 2022, with a high temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius. The historical record was 41.2 degrees Celsius registered in 2019, Xinhua news agency reported.
Record temperatures show that “climate change is here and we humans need to adapt”, the German government said in a statement Tuesday.
Germany’s Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building recently earmarked an additional 176 million euros ($180.4 million) of funding for green spaces in urban areas. Since the program was launched in 2020, a total of 467 million euros has been allocated for climate adaptation in urban areas.
The hot and dry weather is wreaking havoc on agriculture. The German Farmers’ Association (DBV) warned on Tuesday that the scorching weather in June had hit wheat production, and both yield and quality declined. Cornfields were also affected.
Following weeks of heat and drought, livestock farmers are now concerned about fodder supplies.
“The heat records predicted for this week lead us to expect further aggravation,” DBV said.
“At present, drought and extreme heat are putting a strain on the water balance everywhere in central Europe,” Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary with the Ministry for Digital and Transport, told the news agency on Wednesday.
Luksic said the water level is “untypically low” in many rivers and has impeded navigation as shipping channels become shallower in some stretches. The German waterway network in general, however, is still navigable, he said.
