Jena/Erfurt (dpa/th) – At 35.6 degrees Celsius, the Thuringian university town of Jena was the hottest place of the day in Germany on early Saturday afternoon. The value was even higher later in the day – with 36.1 degrees at the Jena observatory, according to the German Weather Service (DWD). A spokesman for the German Weather Service said that the previous maximum value for June 18 in Thuringia was exceeded. It was from the year 2002 – at that time 35.0 degrees Celsius were measured.
According to the DWD, the highest values nationwide were measured later on Saturday at 37.1 degrees elsewhere than in Jena – namely at the Waghäusel-Kirrlach stations on the Upper Rhine (Baden-Württemberg) and in Bad Kreuznach (Rhineland-Palatinate).
In view of the heat, many people were drawn to the outdoor pools to cool off. In the Schwanseebad Weimar they could refresh themselves with a water temperature of 24 degrees, in the Jenaer Südbad the bathers splashed in the 23 degrees Schleichersee. At times there were long queues at the cash desks of the outdoor pools, some of which wanted to extend their opening hours on Saturday.
The risk of forest fires in Thuringia has increased with prolonged drought. On Saturday there was a high or even very high risk of forest fires in almost all regions, as can be seen from the website of the State Forestry Agency. In the southern Thuringian forestry office in Heldburg, the highest of five warning levels continued to apply, in most other forestry offices the second highest level, four. A medium forest fire risk (level 3) was only given for the Thuringian Forest. At forest fire level 5, extremely endangered forest areas can be closed, at level 4 selective closures of barbecue areas, for example, are possible.