Germany Is Set for Hottest Year on Record in Blow to Farm Crops

(Bloomberg) -- /climate

Germany will set another temperature record this year, according to Wetter.net, marking the hottest period since such data collection begun in 1881 and a third year of extreme weather conditions.

The forecaster said no cold spells are expected for the remaining two weeks of the year, making it certain that 2020 will go down as the warmest year in the country’s history. Through mid-December, the average temperature was 10.75 degrees Celsius, it said, citing calculations based on data from Germany’s federal weather service DWD. That will beat the record set in 2018.

DWD separately said 2020 is also another year with little precipitation, with rainfall through mid-December just 83% of average following particularly dry months of January and April. That marked the sixth-driest spring since collection of such data started.

Agriculture and forests have been worst hit by unusual dryness in the spring. Grain harvests this year were about 5% below average, with declines of 19% for asparagus, 13% for strawberries, and 11% for cherries, the Federal statistics office said. More fallen timber had to be cut back because of persistent heat and dryness.

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