Germany sees hottest year on record in 2024, weather service says

The year 2024 is the hottest year on record in Germany since nationwide measurements began in 1881, the German Weather Service (DWD) said on Tuesday.

The recording-setting temperatures break the previous record that had only just been set in 2023, and 2022 had been one of the two warmest years on record.

Tobias Fuchs, head of climate and environment at the DWD, said the record-setting temperatures for 2024 were already clear even with two weeks left in the year.

"It has never been as warm as 2024 in Germany since the end of the 19th century," he said.

The DWD plans to publish its official annual report for 2024 on December 30. It will then provide further information on the record temperature, rainfall and sunshine duration.

A new global temperature record is also on the cards.

The EU-backed climate monitoring project Copernicus reported last week that the year 2024 is heading towards the warmest year on record.

It is also likely to be the first year in which the average temperature is more than 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial average, according to Copernicus.