If no significant rain falls in May 2020, the country could face a drought for the third summer in a row.
Germany may be heading toward its third summer of drought in a row due to high temperatures and sparse precipitation. Forests have been threatened by drought and disease in recent months. In April 2020, the Rhine River was reportedly running low and hampering cargo ship traffic through the country. If no significant rain falls in May, some forecasters believe the country’s agricultural industry could be headed for trouble.
The parched conditions in spring 2020 follow the warmest December to February on record for Europe. Germany also had a particularly dry spring, with little to no rain in many areas since mid-March. The German Meteorological Service reported that April 2020 was the sunniest and third driest April on record. Meteorologists were forecasting rain for early May but were unsure how much it might offset the precipitation deficit.
The map above shows root zone soil moisture in Germany for April 2020; the maps below show the same measurement for April through September from 2016-2019. The colors depict the wetness percentile; that is, how the amount of soil moisture compared to long-term records for the month. Orange and red areas depict deficits in soil moisture, while blue areas hold more water that usual.
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
