Germany reaches new all-time hottest temperature during Europe heatwave

Yet another significant temperature record has fallen amid Europe’s intense, multi-day heatwave. The scorching temperatures shifted to eastern Europe over the weekend after beginning in Spain, France and the U.K. early last week.

On Sunday, the German weather service Deutscher Wetterdienst announced that a new all-time hot temperature record was confirmed for the country. At 3:40 p.m. local time, Kitzingen, Germany reached a scorching high temperature of 104.5 degrees (40.3 degrees Celsius), breaking the old national temperature record of 104.4 degrees (40.2 degrees Celsius) which was previously set in 1983 and twice in 2003.

Germany’s is just the most recent substantial record to fall in the past week as Europe has been roasting under a dome of high pressure, locked in place by surrounding troughs of low pressure. This weather pattern is known as an “omega block” because of the omega-shape the jet stream makes, with the ridge of high pressure pumping warm air northward.

Europe’s broken records

104.5 degrees — The new all-time high temperature for any location or date in Germany, set on Sunday, July 5, in the city of Kitzingen. This breaks Germany’s previous record of 104.4 degrees set first in 1983 and then tied twice again in 2003.

103.5 degrees — The second hottest temperature Paris has seen on any day since they began weather records in 1873, set on July 1.

102.2 degrees — Reported on Sunday, this is the new hottest temperature ever recorded in downtown Frankfurt, according to Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at Weather Underground. Masters found that the Frankfurt airport also set a new record for all-time hottest temperature on Sunday at 101.8 degrees.

98.1 degrees — The temperature that London Heathrow climbed to on Wednesday, July 1, setting a new record for hottest ever recorded during the month of July anywhere in the U.K. The previous record of 97.7 degrees was set on July 19, 2006.

96 degrees — The high temperature at Wimbledon’s closest official reporting on July 1. This was the hottest temperature ever recorded at the Kew Garderns station during the Wimbledon games, but the temperature on the courts were much higher. BBC Sports reported the mercury on Centre Court hit a scorching 106.2 degrees that day.