A recent spring in Germany was marked by unusually warm and dry conditions, according to the German Weather Service (DWD). While the first summer days were already recorded in mid-April, the thermometer fell below freezing in some regions in May. The sun shone almost unimpeded, approaching record values from the years 2020 and 2011, the DWD reported, based on the first results of its approximately 2,000 weather stations.
The spring of 2025 achieved an average temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius, which is 1.9 degrees above the international reference period of 1961-1990 (7.7°C). Compared to the current comparison period of 1991-2020 (8.9°C), the deviation was +0.7 degrees, continuing the long-term warming trend.
April ended as the seventh warmest on record, bringing unusually early summer warmth. The first summer day of the year (at least 25.0°C) was recorded on April 12, in the Upper Rhine, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. The first hot day (at least 30.0°C) followed on May 2, with a high of 30.4°C in Waghäusel-Kirrlach in the Upper Rhine Valley, where a high of around 31°C is expected on May 31, which would be the highest values of the spring nationwide.
The minimum temperature of -11.2°C was recorded on March 18 in Deutschneudorf-Brüderwiese in the Erzgebirge, where frost also occurred repeatedly in May, as did in the eastern Mittelgebirge and in the northeast.
Across the country, around 96 liters per square meter of precipitation fell, which is about 48 percent less than the long-term average of the reference period of 1961-1990 (186 l/m²). Compared to the newer comparison period of 1991-2020 (171 l/m²), the deficit was around 44 percent, making 2025 one of the three driest springs since the beginning of weather recordings in 1881, alongside 1893 and 2011.
The precipitation deficit was particularly striking in the northeast, where many areas recorded only around 40 l/m², while the Alpine foreland recorded up to 300 l/m² in some areas. Wilhelmsfeld, in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, recorded the highest daily total of 86 l/m² on May 28.
With around 695 hours of sunshine, the spring balance was about 49 percent above the target of 467 hours (period of 1961-1990). Even compared to the comparison period of 1991-2020 (522 hours), a plus of around 33 percent was achieved. The North Sea coastal area, in particular, presented an exceptional value of up to 775 hours, while the Alpine rim recorded as little as around 500 hours in some areas.