After spring ended in sweltering style, summer is almost failing to appear in Germany this year. At the beginning of this week the temperature will barely rise above a cool 24 degrees, and further ahead the prognosis isn’t much better. 

Summer’s here, but the hot weather isn’t

The weather in Germany will remain cool this week, the German Weather Service (DWD) has forecast, despite us being slap bang in the middle of the hottest days of the year, statistically speaking. 

“Hot weather over 30 degrees is a long way off and even the 25-degree mark - which defines a summer day - will only just be exceeded in some areas in the east,” a DWD meteorologist told BZ. A steady summer high is “still not in sight.”

The so-called “dog days” - statistically, the hottest days of the year in Germany - are between July 23 and August 23, and the greatest likelihood of a major heatwave falls during this period. But so far this year there has been no sign of even the threat of a heatwave - in stark contrast to the situation two years ago, when the country battled with wave after wave of scorching weather. 

In most places across the northern, western, central and southern federal states there has not been a single hot day with temperatures above 30 degrees throughout July and even at the beginning of August. In eastern Germany, there have only so far been three days with high temperatures above 30 degrees. The highest temperature recorded was in Bernburg / Saale, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, where the thermometer hit 31,7 degrees. 

Is a heatwave on the cards this summer in Germany?

So, are the dog days failing to appear this year? When it comes to the weather, nothing is ever certain, the DWD said. Some midsummer highs aren’t completely off the cards, but they’re proving rather elusive. 

The DWD is predicting that from Sunday to Tuesday the temperature won’t exceed the 18 to 24-degree mark. From Wednesday, a bank of friendly weather will come in and the temperature will begin to climb nationwide to an almost summer 25 to 30 degrees. But, we’re not looking at a full-blown heatwave. As early as next weekend, the outlook seems likely to change again, and the temperatures will decrease once again, especially in the north.