Germany Records Its Second-Hottest Summer Since Measurements Began

Germany’s summer 2026 ranked as the country’s second-hottest since official measurements began, according to a preliminary assessment by the German Weather Service.

The average temperature reached 19.6°C, just below the 19.7°C recorded during the 2003 summer. The figure stood 3.3°C above the international reference period from 1961 to 1990.

The weather service described the frequency of heat as unprecedented. Germany recorded about 22 days with temperatures of at least 30°C and roughly five days reaching at least 35°C.

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Only the summer of the century in 2003, at 19.7°C, is likely to have been warmer.

Möckern-Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt recorded a provisional national record of 41.8°C on June 27. The following night also produced an extreme reading: temperatures in Kubschütz, Saxony, did not fall below 29.4°C, the highest nighttime minimum ever measured in Germany.

The summer was also notably dry, with around 171 liters of precipitation per square meter. Sunshine reached 779 hours, placing the season among the five sunniest since Germany began its sunshine records in 1951.

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The frequency of heat in 2026 was unprecedented.