Halle (dpa/sa) - There have never been so many hours of sunshine in one summer in Saxony-Anhalt - this is the result of the preliminary balance sheet published on Tuesday by the German Weather Service (DWD) for the summer of 2022. As reported by the DWD, there were 810 hours of sunshine this summer and thus more sun than ever since measurements began. The number of summer hours of sunshine this year was well above the 610 summer hours of sunshine in the internationally valid reference period from 1961 to 1990.
Across Germany, the summer of 2022, with 820 hours of sunshine, also significantly exceeded its target of 614 hours (1961 to 1990). It clearly replaced the record summer of 2003 (793 hours of sunshine) and was thus the sunniest summer since data collection began. "The extremes of this summer are also reflected in our climate statistics. The summer of 2022 was the sunniest in Germany, the 6th driest and one of the four warmest since records began," summed up DWD spokesman Uwe Kirsche. "In times of climate change, we should have experienced what will soon be a typical summer."
With 19.5 degrees Celsius (16.9°C in the reference period), 2022 was also one of the hottest summers in Saxony-Anhalt and significantly warmer (plus 2.6 degrees) than the long-term average. With this value, the country was above the national average temperature of 19.2 degrees. Compared to the comparative period from 1991 to 2020, the deviation nationwide was plus 1.6 degrees. This means that the summer of 2022 is one of the four warmest in Germany since 1881. The summer of 2003 remained the "leader" with an average of 19.7 degrees in Germany.
In addition, there is extreme drought and new record heat values in Saxony-Anhalt. With 100 liters per square meter, according to preliminary data from the DWD, it rained in Germany almost half as much as in the reference period (174 l/m²). In Huy-Pabstorf, a daily high of 40 degrees Celsius was measured for the first time.
