Bavaria’s summer heat records point to a new climate reality

Summer 2026 broke heat records across Bavaria, with more hot days, record temperatures and tropical nights than usual, according to an analysis by BR. Unlike the exceptional summer of 2003, however, the heat is increasingly part of a long-term trend, experts say.

Between June and August, Bavaria recorded an average of about 28 hot days, defined as days when the maximum temperature exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. The state also recorded around seven very hot days with temperatures above 35 degrees.

Lower Franconia recorded particularly high numbers of very hot days. The weather station in Kitzingen measured 21 days with temperatures of at least 35 degrees, while Würzburg recorded 17. Kahl am Main, Regensburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber each recorded 16.

The high temperatures in Lower Franconia were aided by the region’s geography and strong solar radiation. Much of the region lies at a low elevation, and weak winds can limit air exchange and intensify the warming of air near the ground. Central Franconia and Upper Palatinate also recorded comparatively high numbers of very hot days.

Guido Kugelmann, a meteorologist at Germany’s national weather service, the DWD, said Bavaria was not experiencing a one-off heat event but a long-term development. “We are experiencing a new climate reality that we have to adapt to,” he said. Such record temperatures will occur more often in future, he added.

Kugelmann attributed this year’s high temperatures to several factors, including warm air masses from North Africa, a persistent area of high pressure and intense solar radiation at the end of June.

Temperatures rose above 40 degrees on individual days. Bavaria’s highest temperature, 40.8 degrees, was recorded in Kitzingen. Kahl am Main reached 40.7 degrees, while Röllbach, Möhrendorf-Kleinseebach and Würzburg each recorded a maximum of 39.9 degrees.

The average summer temperature in Bavaria was 19.9 degrees. By comparison, the average was 15.8 degrees during the 1961 to 1990 reference period and 17.3 degrees from 1991 to 2020.

“With human-caused climate change, higher average temperatures and more extreme events are to be expected, including more hot and very hot days,” Kugelmann said.

Longer periods of extreme heat

Heat becomes particularly stressful for people and nature when hot and very hot days occur in succession. In Bavaria, days with maximum temperatures of 35 degrees are usually isolated. In 2026, the average period lasted two consecutive days.

About one-third of stations with long-term measurement records recorded their longest period of consecutive very hot days in 2026. In Kitzingen, temperatures remained above 35 degrees for 11 consecutive days in June, matching a record previously reached only during the exceptionally hot summer of 2003.

Persistent heat can pose risks to people and nature. “Higher temperatures cause more water to evaporate. The soil has become very dry this summer. Higher temperatures, low humidity and increasing drought raise the risk of forest fires,” Kugelmann said.

Record number of tropical nights

The summer also brought a historically high number of tropical nights in Bavaria. A tropical night is one in which temperatures do not fall below 20 degrees between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Bavaria usually records about one tropical night per summer on average. The previous record was measured in 2003 at the Hohen Peißenberg, a weather station location, where there were 12 tropical nights.

That figure was exceeded at at least five Bavarian stations in summer 2026. In many cases, the tropical nights occurred consecutively, with eight recorded in a row in Würzburg, the small municipality of Sandberg in Lower Franconia and at the Hohen Peißenberg.