Climate change doubles the number of extreme heat days in Germany in just one year
Germany experienced nearly double the number of extreme heat days last year compared to what it would have faced without climate change, according to a new analysis published on Friday.
This analysis was prepared by the Global Weather Attribution initiative, the Climate Center of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the nonprofit organization Climate Central.
Researchers define extreme heat days as those where temperatures exceed 90% of the averages recorded between 1991 and 2020. Between May 2024 and May 2025, Germany witnessed 50 days of extreme heat, 24 of which were directly linked to climate change resulting from human activities.
To assess the impact of global warming, scientists simulated a climate free from human emissions and compared it with actual temperature data.
Climate change led to at least 30 additional extreme heat days affecting around 4 billion people, or about half the world’s population, during the same period. In 195 countries and regions out of 247 included in the study, the number of extreme heat days had at least doubled due to global warming.
The worst heat wave caused by climate change in Europe occurred in June 2024 when a heatwave swept from Greece through Romania towards Asia and the Middle East.
