Weather experts warn of forest fires in Germany. But which federal states are particularly at risk?
Eberswalde (dpa) – With the first heat wave of the year in Germany, the risk of forest fires continues to increase. The forest fire risk index of the German Weather Service (DWD) showed alarming red to dark red spots for the weekend including Friday.
The index is racing towards the highest forest fire warning level, said a DWD spokesman. The weather experts see a high level of danger in northeast Germany in particular. The top soil layers there are too dry. DWD forest fire expert Christopher Böttcher sums it up like this: Air humidity, wind speed, precipitation, temperature and solar radiation are important factors.
Year after year, Brandenburg is particularly hard hit by forest fires, because it often does not rain, or only a little or only very locally. If the winds come from the north, Scandinavia’s mountains ensure that only a dry current arrives in Brandenburg, as a DWD meteorologist explained. From the southwest, thunderstorms mostly accumulated over the low mountain range, clouds rained down, only a small amount of residual precipitation arrives in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. The land around Berlin also suffers from sandy soils that cannot keep the rain long.
In other countries too, such as Bavaria, Saxony and Lower Saxony, the risk of forest fires increases every day. The forestry officials warned against smoking, barbecuing or lighting campfires in the woods.
The forest fire control centers in the federal states are manned from danger level 3 and monitor the events with sensors. In Brandenburg, for example, there are two such centers in Zossen (Teltow-Fläming) and Eberswalde (Barnim). Within a few minutes, employees can pass on information about fires to the respective control centers in the regions.
According to the DWD, relaxation is only in sight on the weekend with increasing probability of thunderstorms. A large-scale thunderstorm front, which will put an end to the current heat wave, is not expected until the beginning of the week and also involves storm risks.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210618-99-41471 / 2
