Events cancelled, records loom as heatwave reaches Germany

A heatwave reaching Germany led to cancellations and rising public warnings as temperatures were expected to surpass 40°C over the weekend. The German Weather Service (DWD) said large parts of the country were already under “severe to extreme heat stress.” In Kirrlach, in the southwest, temperatures hit 39.0°C on Thursday, according to provisional DWD data, just below the record June high of 39.6°C set in 2019. Open-air events were disrupted, including a half-marathon in Hamburg, where officials cited higher demand for emergency and rescue services. Deutsche Bahn warned customers to avoid travel and said it would refund tickets booked up to June 30 due to a high risk of disruption from wildfires, heavy summer rain, and thunderstorms. Experts warned Germany is poorly prepared, while authorities reported fatal swimming accidents and said the forest-fire alert level is already elevated in parts of eastern Germany.