For the city of Potsdam, they found the mean temperature for the aforesaid period of time to be 11.7°C and therefore being 3°C degrees higher than the city's long-term mean since the beginning of observations in 1893. Further analyses confirmed the heat record for the whole of Germany: its mean temperature over the respective 12 month period was approximately 11°C and thereby exceeded the country's long term mean of 8°C to a higher degree than ever before. What surprised the scientists was the magnitude of this record. If this trend continues in the near future, we will be experiencing an acceleration of global warming in Germany so far unexpected by climate scientists.
Contact:
Zbigniew Kundzewicz, phone:
+49 331 288-2517
e-mail: zbyszek@pik-potsdam.de
Prof. Friedrich-Wilhelm Gerstengarbe, phone:
+49 331 288-2586
e-mail: gerstengarbe@pik-potsdam.de
PIK Press Office:
Uta Pohlmann, phone:
+49 331 288-2507
e-mail: press@pik-potsdam.de
