The Scorching Hot German Summer of 1911

1911 in Germany saw a hot, dry summer that lasted from spring until well into September

German blog site lokalgeschichte here looks at the German summer of 1911, which was exceptionally hot, dry and sunny. It disproves the previously widespread idea that Central Europe’s heat waves are something new and due to more CO2 in the atmosphere.

Germany saw extreme heat from spring until September in 1911. Symbol image, produced by Grok

Although temperatures in the summer of 1911 were very high in places (up to 40 C in Chemnitz), no new records were broken. The year 1892 had similar or even higher values (41.5C in Reichenhall). The most remarkable feature of the summer of 1911 was not the absolute maximum temperature, but the duration of the hot spell and the persistent tendency towards dry and warm high-pressure weather, which lasted from spring until well into September.

In 1911, Germany saw extreme drought, particularly in western and central Germany. In Berlin, for example, only about half of the normal precipitation fell between April and July, and only a seventh in August. Such an event occurring today would have climates alarmists blaming CO2. But, as 1911 shows, weather extremes are nothing new.

According to the article, the cause of such weather is a persistent shift of high-pressure areas over continental Europe. However, the fundamental forces that control these atmospheric currents are not yet fully understood. Although the outflow of heated air from the tropics to the poles influences the climate of the temperate zones and the conditions in higher atmospheric layers could play a role, there are still no reliable laws for accurate forecasting.

Meteorological observations over almost two centuries show that cool and warm summers occur in bunches. Examples of this are eight consecutive cool summers from 1881 to 1888 and 18 cool summers from 1730 to 1747, as well as 15 warm summers from 1756 to 1770. The climate balances itself out over longer periods of time. It’s naturally occurring.

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