Heat Ranking of German Cities

Where the heat lives in Germany

80 major cities, 1951 to 2025. Measured where people live.

1951: 3.6 hot days on average1952: 9.8 hot days on average1953: 6.1 hot days on average1954: 3.3 hot days on average1955: 1.8 hot days on average1956: 0.9 hot days on average1957: 8.7 hot days on average1958: 2.1 hot days on average1959: 8.4 hot days on average1960: 1.6 hot days on average1961: 6.3 hot days on average1962: 3.1 hot days on average1963: 4.8 hot days on average1964: 12.9 hot days on average1965: 1.5 hot days on average1966: 3.9 hot days on average1967: 5.6 hot days on average1968: 2.9 hot days on average1969: 8.2 hot days on average1970: 2.6 hot days on average1971: 7.5 hot days on average1972: 5.5 hot days on average1973: 8.9 hot days on average1974: 3.4 hot days on average1975: 9.3 hot days on average1976: 15.2 hot days on average1977: 1.8 hot days on average1978: 2.7 hot days on average1979: 3.1 hot days on average1980: 2.2 hot days on average1981: 3.6 hot days on average1982: 9.2 hot days on average1983: 13.1 hot days on average1984: 5.0 hot days on average1985: 3.8 hot days on average1986: 6.3 hot days on average1987: 3.1 hot days on average1988: 3.3 hot days on average1989: 6.9 hot days on average1990: 8.8 hot days on average1991: 8.2 hot days on average1992: 11.2 hot days on average1993: 3.0 hot days on average1994: 18.8 hot days on average1995: 14.7 hot days on average1996: 4.4 hot days on average1997: 7.3 hot days on average1998: 9.4 hot days on average1999: 8.6 hot days on average2000: 6.7 hot days on average2001: 10.5 hot days on average2002: 7.9 hot days on average2003: 22.3 hot days on average2004: 7.4 hot days on average2005: 10.6 hot days on average2006: 17.8 hot days on average2007: 6.1 hot days on average2008: 7.4 hot days on average2009: 6.1 hot days on average2010: 12.8 hot days on average2011: 5.2 hot days on average2012: 8.7 hot days on average2013: 12.1 hot days on average2014: 6.3 hot days on average2015: 18.7 hot days on average2016: 12.1 hot days on average2017: 9.6 hot days on average2018: 23.2 hot days on average2019: 19.4 hot days on average2020: 14.6 hot days on average2021: 5.1 hot days on average2022: 21.6 hot days on average2023: 14.0 hot days on average2024: 13.5 hot days on average2025: 13.4 hot days on average
Each stripe is one year, showing the average number of hot days across all major cities. Red: more than the 1951–2025 average, blue: fewer. The most was in 2018, with 23.2.

All 80 major cities are in the ranking – with rank, today’s value and the value for the 1950s.

More than three weeks a year above 30 degrees: in Mannheim that is now 24.3 days on average. In the 1950s it was 9.2.

69 of the 80 major German cities now have more hot days a year than any of them reached in 1951–1960. The highest value back then was 9.9 hot days.

Worldwide, the twelve months to September were 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. If current policies continue, the United Nations expects 2.8 degrees by the end of the century. In Germany’s major cities, the number of hot days has already more than tripled: from 4.6 a year in the 1950s to 14.6 on average over 2016–2025.

Global figures: Copernicus, climate bulletin September 2026; UNEP, Emissions Gap Report 2026. Both relative to pre-industrial levels. This page makes no projections for individual cities.

One square = one day above 30 °C 1951–19604.6 2016–202514.6
One square = one day above 30 °C 1951–19604.6 2016–202514.6
National average, 3.2 times as many as back then.

For almost a third of the population, a hot day is a real test: for older people, young children and everyone who works outdoors. It shows not only on the thermometer but in flats, on the way to school, at bus stops and in playgrounds. That is why it matters to show how hot it is where people actually live and work, not only where a weather station happens to stand.

Technically: population-weighted over the 100-metre cells of the 2022 Census. How it was calculated.

By Dr. Julian Zuber · 1951–2025 · As of 20 October 2026

The finding

More hot days in every city – and almost the same ones at the top as in the fifties

In eight steps through the same chart: how many hot days there are today and how many there were in 1951–1960, how many have been added, and what has shifted within Germany.

0 5 10 15 20 25 Hot days per year 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 Rank today Rank then ⌀ 4.6 ⌀ 14.6 Mannheim: 9.2 → 24.3 hot days, rank 2 → 1Mannheim 24.3 Ludwigshafen am Rhein: 9.9 → 24.0 hot days, rank 1 → 2Ludwigshafen am Rhein 24.0 Karlsruhe: 9.0 → 23.9 hot days, rank 3 → 3Karlsruhe 23.9 Regensburg: 4.5 → 23.7 hot days, rank 36 → 4Regensburg ▲ 32 Darmstadt: 7.0 → 23.6 hot days, rank 11 → 5 Heidelberg: 8.3 → 22.4 hot days, rank 6 → 6 Heilbronn: 7.8 → 22.2 hot days, rank 8 → 7Heilbronn 22.2 Offenbach am Main: 8.2 → 22.2 hot days, rank 7 → 8 Frankfurt am Main: 8.6 → 22.2 hot days, rank 5 → 9 Erlangen: 7.0 → 21.2 hot days, rank 14 → 10 Kaiserslautern: 5.5 → 21.2 hot days, rank 24 → 11 Jena: 6.9 → 21.1 hot days, rank 15 → 12 Würzburg: 7.0 → 20.7 hot days, rank 12 → 13 Freiburg im Breisgau: 8.7 → 20.3 hot days, rank 4 → 14 Saarbrücken: 5.1 → 19.5 hot days, rank 29 → 15 Trier: 7.3 → 19.5 hot days, rank 9 → 16 Mainz: 7.3 → 19.3 hot days, rank 10 → 17 Dresden: 6.7 → 19.1 hot days, rank 16 → 18 Potsdam: 6.5 → 18.7 hot days, rank 17 → 19 Reutlingen: 6.0 → 18.5 hot days, rank 20 → 20 Fürth: 6.4 → 18.2 hot days, rank 18 → 21 Nürnberg: 6.2 → 17.9 hot days, rank 19 → 22 Stuttgart: 5.2 → 17.6 hot days, rank 28 → 23 Leipzig: 5.8 → 17.6 hot days, rank 22 → 24 Wiesbaden: 7.0 → 17.6 hot days, rank 13 → 25 Magdeburg: 4.6 → 17.4 hot days, rank 33 → 26 Berlin: 5.2 → 17.1 hot days, rank 26 → 27 Pforzheim: 4.4 → 17.0 hot days, rank 39 → 28 Halle (Saale): 5.8 → 16.5 hot days, rank 21 → 29 Köln: 5.6 → 15.9 hot days, rank 23 → 30 Koblenz: 5.2 → 15.7 hot days, rank 27 → 31 München: 3.4 → 15.2 hot days, rank 59 → 32München ▲ 27 Leverkusen: 4.7 → 15.2 hot days, rank 31 → 33 Ingolstadt: 4.7 → 15.1 hot days, rank 32 → 34 Krefeld: 4.4 → 14.7 hot days, rank 38 → 35 Moers: 4.2 → 14.5 hot days, rank 44 → 36 Neuss: 4.8 → 14.2 hot days, rank 30 → 37 Mönchengladbach: 4.0 → 14.2 hot days, rank 47 → 38 Duisburg: 4.2 → 14.1 hot days, rank 43 → 39 Düsseldorf: 4.5 → 13.9 hot days, rank 34 → 40 Bergisch Gladbach: 4.2 → 13.9 hot days, rank 42 → 41 Wolfsburg: 3.3 → 13.8 hot days, rank 60 → 42 Bonn: 4.3 → 13.2 hot days, rank 40 → 43 Oberhausen: 3.7 → 13.0 hot days, rank 50 → 44 Bottrop: 3.6 → 12.5 hot days, rank 53 → 45 Herne: 3.8 → 12.5 hot days, rank 48 → 46 Gelsenkirchen: 3.7 → 12.3 hot days, rank 49 → 47 Recklinghausen: 3.4 → 12.3 hot days, rank 58 → 48 Hannover: 3.1 → 12.2 hot days, rank 64 → 49 Göttingen: 3.7 → 12.1 hot days, rank 52 → 50 Erfurt: 5.4 → 12.0 hot days, rank 25 → 51Erfurt ▼ 26 Solingen: 2.8 → 11.9 hot days, rank 68 → 52 Dortmund: 3.5 → 11.8 hot days, rank 57 → 53 Augsburg: 4.5 → 11.8 hot days, rank 35 → 54 Hamm: 3.7 → 11.7 hot days, rank 51 → 55 Bochum: 3.3 → 11.6 hot days, rank 61 → 56 Braunschweig: 3.0 → 11.6 hot days, rank 65 → 57 Salzgitter: 3.6 → 11.5 hot days, rank 54 → 58 Münster: 2.7 → 11.4 hot days, rank 69 → 59 Mülheim an der Ruhr: 2.9 → 10.9 hot days, rank 66 → 60 Paderborn: 3.5 → 10.9 hot days, rank 56 → 61 Gütersloh: 4.1 → 10.9 hot days, rank 46 → 62 Bielefeld: 3.3 → 10.8 hot days, rank 62 → 63 Chemnitz: 4.1 → 10.7 hot days, rank 45 → 64 Essen: 2.9 → 10.7 hot days, rank 67 → 65 Wuppertal: 2.4 → 10.6 hot days, rank 71 → 66 Hagen: 3.5 → 10.1 hot days, rank 55 → 67 Ulm: 4.2 → 10.1 hot days, rank 41 → 68Ulm ▼ 27 Kassel: 4.5 → 10.0 hot days, rank 37 → 69Kassel ▼ 32 Remscheid: 2.2 → 9.9 hot days, rank 73 → 70 Siegen: 3.2 → 9.7 hot days, rank 63 → 71 Aachen: 2.5 → 9.6 hot days, rank 70 → 72 Osnabrück: 2.2 → 9.5 hot days, rank 72 → 73 Bremen: 2.0 → 9.5 hot days, rank 74 → 74 Hamburg: 1.9 → 8.2 hot days, rank 75 → 75 Oldenburg (Oldb): 1.4 → 7.8 hot days, rank 76 → 76 Lübeck: 1.2 → 6.3 hot days, rank 77 → 77 Rostock: 1.1 → 5.7 hot days, rank 78 → 78 Bremerhaven: 0.7 → 4.9 hot days, rank 79 → 79 Kiel: 0.6 → 3.2 hot days, rank 80 → 80Kiel 3.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 Hot days per year 1 21 41 61 ⌀ 4.6 ⌀ 14.6 Mannheim: 9.2 → 24.3 hot days, rank 2 → 1Mannheim 24.3 Ludwigshafen am Rhein: 9.9 → 24.0 hot days, rank 1 → 2 Karlsruhe: 9.0 → 23.9 hot days, rank 3 → 3 Regensburg: 4.5 → 23.7 hot days, rank 36 → 4Regensburg ▲ 32 Darmstadt: 7.0 → 23.6 hot days, rank 11 → 5 Heidelberg: 8.3 → 22.4 hot days, rank 6 → 6 Heilbronn: 7.8 → 22.2 hot days, rank 8 → 7 Offenbach am Main: 8.2 → 22.2 hot days, rank 7 → 8 Frankfurt am Main: 8.6 → 22.2 hot days, rank 5 → 9 Erlangen: 7.0 → 21.2 hot days, rank 14 → 10 Kaiserslautern: 5.5 → 21.2 hot days, rank 24 → 11 Jena: 6.9 → 21.1 hot days, rank 15 → 12 Würzburg: 7.0 → 20.7 hot days, rank 12 → 13 Freiburg im Breisgau: 8.7 → 20.3 hot days, rank 4 → 14 Saarbrücken: 5.1 → 19.5 hot days, rank 29 → 15 Trier: 7.3 → 19.5 hot days, rank 9 → 16 Mainz: 7.3 → 19.3 hot days, rank 10 → 17 Dresden: 6.7 → 19.1 hot days, rank 16 → 18 Potsdam: 6.5 → 18.7 hot days, rank 17 → 19 Reutlingen: 6.0 → 18.5 hot days, rank 20 → 20 Fürth: 6.4 → 18.2 hot days, rank 18 → 21 Nürnberg: 6.2 → 17.9 hot days, rank 19 → 22 Stuttgart: 5.2 → 17.6 hot days, rank 28 → 23 Leipzig: 5.8 → 17.6 hot days, rank 22 → 24 Wiesbaden: 7.0 → 17.6 hot days, rank 13 → 25 Magdeburg: 4.6 → 17.4 hot days, rank 33 → 26 Berlin: 5.2 → 17.1 hot days, rank 26 → 27 Pforzheim: 4.4 → 17.0 hot days, rank 39 → 28 Halle (Saale): 5.8 → 16.5 hot days, rank 21 → 29 Köln: 5.6 → 15.9 hot days, rank 23 → 30 Koblenz: 5.2 → 15.7 hot days, rank 27 → 31 München: 3.4 → 15.2 hot days, rank 59 → 32München ▲ 27 Leverkusen: 4.7 → 15.2 hot days, rank 31 → 33 Ingolstadt: 4.7 → 15.1 hot days, rank 32 → 34 Krefeld: 4.4 → 14.7 hot days, rank 38 → 35 Moers: 4.2 → 14.5 hot days, rank 44 → 36 Neuss: 4.8 → 14.2 hot days, rank 30 → 37 Mönchengladbach: 4.0 → 14.2 hot days, rank 47 → 38 Duisburg: 4.2 → 14.1 hot days, rank 43 → 39 Düsseldorf: 4.5 → 13.9 hot days, rank 34 → 40 Bergisch Gladbach: 4.2 → 13.9 hot days, rank 42 → 41 Wolfsburg: 3.3 → 13.8 hot days, rank 60 → 42 Bonn: 4.3 → 13.2 hot days, rank 40 → 43 Oberhausen: 3.7 → 13.0 hot days, rank 50 → 44 Bottrop: 3.6 → 12.5 hot days, rank 53 → 45 Herne: 3.8 → 12.5 hot days, rank 48 → 46 Gelsenkirchen: 3.7 → 12.3 hot days, rank 49 → 47 Recklinghausen: 3.4 → 12.3 hot days, rank 58 → 48 Hannover: 3.1 → 12.2 hot days, rank 64 → 49 Göttingen: 3.7 → 12.1 hot days, rank 52 → 50 Erfurt: 5.4 → 12.0 hot days, rank 25 → 51Erfurt ▼ 26 Solingen: 2.8 → 11.9 hot days, rank 68 → 52 Dortmund: 3.5 → 11.8 hot days, rank 57 → 53 Augsburg: 4.5 → 11.8 hot days, rank 35 → 54 Hamm: 3.7 → 11.7 hot days, rank 51 → 55 Bochum: 3.3 → 11.6 hot days, rank 61 → 56 Braunschweig: 3.0 → 11.6 hot days, rank 65 → 57 Salzgitter: 3.6 → 11.5 hot days, rank 54 → 58 Münster: 2.7 → 11.4 hot days, rank 69 → 59 Mülheim an der Ruhr: 2.9 → 10.9 hot days, rank 66 → 60 Paderborn: 3.5 → 10.9 hot days, rank 56 → 61 Gütersloh: 4.1 → 10.9 hot days, rank 46 → 62 Bielefeld: 3.3 → 10.8 hot days, rank 62 → 63 Chemnitz: 4.1 → 10.7 hot days, rank 45 → 64 Essen: 2.9 → 10.7 hot days, rank 67 → 65 Wuppertal: 2.4 → 10.6 hot days, rank 71 → 66 Hagen: 3.5 → 10.1 hot days, rank 55 → 67 Ulm: 4.2 → 10.1 hot days, rank 41 → 68Ulm ▼ 27 Kassel: 4.5 → 10.0 hot days, rank 37 → 69Kassel ▼ 32 Remscheid: 2.2 → 9.9 hot days, rank 73 → 70 Siegen: 3.2 → 9.7 hot days, rank 63 → 71 Aachen: 2.5 → 9.6 hot days, rank 70 → 72 Osnabrück: 2.2 → 9.5 hot days, rank 72 → 73 Bremen: 2.0 → 9.5 hot days, rank 74 → 74 Hamburg: 1.9 → 8.2 hot days, rank 75 → 75 Oldenburg (Oldb): 1.4 → 7.8 hot days, rank 76 → 76 Lübeck: 1.2 → 6.3 hot days, rank 77 → 77 Rostock: 1.1 → 5.7 hot days, rank 78 → 78 Bremerhaven: 0.7 → 4.9 hot days, rank 79 → 79 Kiel: 0.6 → 3.2 hot days, rank 80 → 80Kiel 3.2
One dot per major city. Small: average 1951–1960. Large: 2016–2025.

The finding 1 / 8

Today

All 80 major German cities, sorted by hot days per year. A hot day is a day reaching at least 30 °C. At the top is Mannheim with 24.3 days; Kiel has the fewest, with 3.2.

The finding 2 / 8

1951 to 1960

The same cities, average 1951–1960. The whole distribution shifts to the left and closes up. The national average was 4.6 hot days instead of 14.6 today. Even Mannheim only reached 9.2 back then.

The finding 3 / 8

The decades in between

The path from then to now came in stages. Each of the eight periods now appears as its own dot in the row, coloured by its deviation from that city’s average. Blue is cooler, red warmer.

The finding 4 / 8

Where the most was added

The longer the line, the more hot days have been added since 1951. The lines are longer at the top than at the bottom. Cities that already had many hot days gained the most.

The finding 5 / 8

Almost the same order as in 1951

The left line shows the ranking of 1951, the right one today’s. The two run almost parallel: the list from back then predicts today’s almost completely. Rank correlation 0.905 out of a maximum of 1.0.

The finding 6 / 8

Who swapped places

The same dots, but the vertical axis now counts the rank of 1951–1960. Each city moves to where it stood back then. 64 of 80 move by ten places or fewer – the field barely moves. Only five cut right across.

The finding 7 / 8

The regulars

Among the top ten in every one of the eight periods: Mannheim, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Karlsruhe, Heilbronn. Whoever is at the top today was already at the top in the fifties.

The finding 8 / 8

The outliers

Five cities moved 20 places or more: Regensburg (▲32), Kassel (▼32), München (▲27), Ulm (▼27), Erfurt (▼26). Regensburg is the biggest climber, now at 23.7 hot days instead of 4.5.

The summer of 2026

The summer of 2026 was hotter than any year since 1951

30.3 hot days on average across the 80 major cities, counted up to 19 October in the daily grid of the German Weather Service: more than twice as many as the average of 2016–2025 (14.6). In 58 of 80 cities the value exceeds that city’s previous record year.

The ten major cities with the most hot days in the provisionally counted year 2026
#City2026Ø 2016–2025previous recordrecord
1Karlsruhe58.423.945.8 2003
2Freiburg im Breisgau54.720.336.5 2003
3Heidelberg53.422.438.6 2003
4Ludwigshafen am Rhein53.224.037.3 2003
5Mannheim52.624.338.8 2003
6Regensburg52.323.737.1 2003
7Saarbrücken52.219.534.3 2022
8Trier51.119.539.1 2022
9Heilbronn51.022.235.4 2003
10Kaiserslautern49.121.236.4 2022

Provisional. The count covers the first 292 days of the year, up to 19 October. The year is therefore not yet complete, and the figure comes from the daily grid rather than the annual grid, which the DWD only publishes after the end of the year. Over the three most recent years available in both, the two agree on average (+0.18 days); for a single city they typically differ by 1.5 days, in individual cases by up to 6.8.

This was checked against the three most recent years available in both: 2023 +0.23 days on average across 80 cities; 2024 +0.41 days on average across 80 cities; 2025 −0.10 days on average across 80 cities. If the mean deviation exceeds 2 days, no figure is produced; this section is then dropped rather than showing a value with an asterisk.

Everything at once

Every city, every year since 1951

Each row a city, each column a year. The colour shows the deviation from that city’s own average over all years since 1951: blue cooler, red warmer. Each city therefore reads on its own terms, regardless of how hot it is overall.

They all read the same. Blue on the left, red on the right, in 80 of 80 cities. The rise affects every city, north and south, large and small.

cooler warmer than this city’s own average, 1951–2025 1951 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2025 1 Mannheim Mannheim: rank 1, average 14.6 hot days – open city page 2 Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ludwigshafen am Rhein: rank 2, average 14.7 hot days – open city page 3 Karlsruhe Karlsruhe: rank 3, average 15.1 hot days – open city page 4 Regensburg Regensburg: rank 4, average 10.8 hot days – open city page 5 Darmstadt Darmstadt: rank 5, average 12.6 hot days – open city page 6 Heidelberg Heidelberg: rank 6, average 13.2 hot days – open city page 7 Heilbronn Heilbronn: rank 7, average 13.3 hot days – open city page 8 Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main: rank 8, average 12.6 hot days – open city page 9 Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main: rank 9, average 12.4 hot days – open city page 10 Erlangen Erlangen: rank 10, average 10.8 hot days – open city page 11 Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern: rank 11, average 10.4 hot days – open city page 12 Jena Jena: rank 12, average 11.0 hot days – open city page 13 Würzburg Würzburg: rank 13, average 11.6 hot days – open city page 14 Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau: rank 14, average 13.0 hot days – open city page 15 Saarbrücken Saarbrücken: rank 15, average 9.7 hot days – open city page 16 Trier Trier: rank 16, average 11.1 hot days – open city page 17 Mainz Mainz: rank 17, average 12.1 hot days – open city page 18 Dresden Dresden: rank 18, average 11.0 hot days – open city page 19 Potsdam Potsdam: rank 19, average 10.9 hot days – open city page 20 Reutlingen Reutlingen: rank 20, average 9.7 hot days – open city page 21 Fürth Fürth: rank 21, average 10.4 hot days – open city page 22 Nürnberg Nürnberg: rank 22, average 10.4 hot days – open city page 23 Stuttgart Stuttgart: rank 23, average 9.9 hot days – open city page 24 Leipzig Leipzig: rank 24, average 9.7 hot days – open city page 25 Wiesbaden Wiesbaden: rank 25, average 10.9 hot days – open city page 26 Magdeburg Magdeburg: rank 26, average 9.7 hot days – open city page 27 Berlin Berlin: rank 27, average 9.7 hot days – open city page 28 Pforzheim Pforzheim: rank 28, average 8.8 hot days – open city page 29 Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale): rank 29, average 9.2 hot days – open city page 30 Köln Köln: rank 30, average 8.7 hot days – open city page 31 Koblenz Koblenz: rank 31, average 10.7 hot days – open city page 32 München München: rank 32, average 7.4 hot days – open city page 33 Leverkusen Leverkusen: rank 33, average 8.2 hot days – open city page 34 Ingolstadt Ingolstadt: rank 34, average 8.4 hot days – open city page 35 Krefeld Krefeld: rank 35, average 8.1 hot days – open city page 36 Moers Moers: rank 36, average 8.6 hot days – open city page 37 Neuss Neuss: rank 37, average 8.2 hot days – open city page 38 Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach: rank 38, average 7.5 hot days – open city page 39 Duisburg Duisburg: rank 39, average 8.6 hot days – open city page 40 Düsseldorf Düsseldorf: rank 40, average 8.0 hot days – open city page 41 Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach: rank 41, average 7.4 hot days – open city page 42 Wolfsburg Wolfsburg: rank 42, average 7.7 hot days – open city page 43 Bonn Bonn: rank 43, average 8.2 hot days – open city page 44 Oberhausen Oberhausen: rank 44, average 7.6 hot days – open city page 45 Bottrop Bottrop: rank 45, average 7.3 hot days – open city page 46 Herne Herne: rank 46, average 7.6 hot days – open city page 47 Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen: rank 47, average 7.5 hot days – open city page 48 Recklinghausen Recklinghausen: rank 48, average 7.3 hot days – open city page 49 Hannover Hannover: rank 49, average 6.2 hot days – open city page 50 Göttingen Göttingen: rank 50, average 6.9 hot days – open city page 51 Erfurt Erfurt: rank 51, average 7.1 hot days – open city page 52 Solingen Solingen: rank 52, average 6.3 hot days – open city page 53 Dortmund Dortmund: rank 53, average 6.6 hot days – open city page 54 Augsburg Augsburg: rank 54, average 6.8 hot days – open city page 55 Hamm Hamm: rank 55, average 6.5 hot days – open city page 56 Bochum Bochum: rank 56, average 6.9 hot days – open city page 57 Braunschweig Braunschweig: rank 57, average 6.2 hot days – open city page 58 Salzgitter Salzgitter: rank 58, average 6.2 hot days – open city page 59 Münster Münster: rank 59, average 6.1 hot days – open city page 60 Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim an der Ruhr: rank 60, average 6.3 hot days – open city page 61 Paderborn Paderborn: rank 61, average 5.8 hot days – open city page 62 Gütersloh Gütersloh: rank 62, average 6.6 hot days – open city page 63 Bielefeld Bielefeld: rank 63, average 6.0 hot days – open city page 64 Chemnitz Chemnitz: rank 64, average 6.0 hot days – open city page 65 Essen Essen: rank 65, average 6.2 hot days – open city page 66 Wuppertal Wuppertal: rank 66, average 5.7 hot days – open city page 67 Hagen Hagen: rank 67, average 6.1 hot days – open city page 68 Ulm Ulm: rank 68, average 5.8 hot days – open city page 69 Kassel Kassel: rank 69, average 6.2 hot days – open city page 70 Remscheid Remscheid: rank 70, average 5.1 hot days – open city page 71 Siegen Siegen: rank 71, average 6.1 hot days – open city page 72 Aachen Aachen: rank 72, average 5.4 hot days – open city page 73 Osnabrück Osnabrück: rank 73, average 5.0 hot days – open city page 74 Bremen Bremen: rank 74, average 4.7 hot days – open city page 75 Hamburg Hamburg: rank 75, average 4.5 hot days – open city page 76 Oldenburg (Oldb) Oldenburg (Oldb): rank 76, average 4.2 hot days – open city page 77 Lübeck Lübeck: rank 77, average 3.7 hot days – open city page 78 Rostock Rostock: rank 78, average 2.8 hot days – open city page 79 Bremerhaven Bremerhaven: rank 79, average 2.6 hot days – open city page 80 Kiel Kiel: rank 80, average 1.8 hot days – open city page
Each row leads to its city’s page. Tap for full screen. There, tap a row or drag your finger up and down. Very hot years appear as vertical red stripes across all cities; nationally the hottest was 2018.
What this chart cannot show

The grid ends at the coastline and the national border. For five cities, part of the population therefore lies outside it: Kiel 2.3 %, Rostock 1.5 %, Hamburg 0.8 %, Lübeck 0.4 %, Saarbrücken 0.3 %. That area is left out; it is not extrapolated.

Because each row is coloured on its own scale, the cities cannot be compared with one another in this chart. The other charts on this page are there for that. Exact values cannot be read from the colour anyway; they are on the city pages.

The ranking

All 80 major cities

Sorted by hot days per year, average 2016–2025. Each row leads to its city’s page, which shows the trend since 1951, the values for all eight periods and the share of green where people live.

The column headers re-sort the table – by name, by increase, by rank in the 1950s.

All 80 major German cities by hot days per year, average 2016–2025
Trend
11–5Mannheim24.39.2+15.12 ▲
21–5Ludwigshafen am Rhein24.09.9+14.01 ▼
31–5Karlsruhe23.99.0+14.93 ·
41–5Regensburg23.74.5+19.236 ▲
51–5Darmstadt23.67.0+16.511 ▲
66–9Heidelberg22.48.3+14.16 ·
76–9Heilbronn22.27.8+14.48 ▲
86–9Offenbach am Main22.28.2+14.07 ▼
96–9Frankfurt am Main22.28.6+13.65 ▼
1010–14Erlangen21.27.0+14.214 ▲
1110–14Kaiserslautern21.25.5+15.724 ▲
1210–14Jena21.16.9+14.215 ▲
1310–14Würzburg20.77.0+13.712 ▼
1410–16Freiburg im Breisgau20.38.7+11.64 ▼
1514–19Saarbrücken19.55.1+14.429 ▲
1614–19Trier19.57.3+12.29 ▼
1715–20Mainz19.37.3+12.010 ▼
1815–21Dresden19.16.7+12.316 ▼
1915–22Potsdam18.76.5+12.317 ▼
2017–24Reutlingen18.56.0+12.520 ·
2118–26Fürth18.26.4+11.818 ▼
2219–27Nürnberg17.96.2+11.719 ▼
2320–28Stuttgart17.65.2+12.528 ▲
2420–28Leipzig17.65.8+11.822 ▼
2521–28Wiesbaden17.67.0+10.613 ▼
2621–29Magdeburg17.44.6+12.833 ▲
2722–29Berlin17.15.2+11.926 ▼
2823–29Pforzheim17.04.4+12.639 ▲
2926–31Halle (Saale)16.55.8+10.721 ▼
3029–34Köln15.95.6+10.323 ▼
3129–34Koblenz15.75.2+10.427 ▼
3230–36München15.23.4+11.859 ▲
3330–36Leverkusen15.24.7+10.531 ▼
3430–36Ingolstadt15.14.7+10.432 ▼
3532–41Krefeld14.74.4+10.338 ▲
3632–42Moers14.54.2+10.444 ▲
3735–42Neuss14.24.8+9.430 ▼
3835–42Mönchengladbach14.24.0+10.247 ▲
3935–42Duisburg14.14.2+9.943 ▲
4035–44Düsseldorf13.94.5+9.434 ▼
4135–44Bergisch Gladbach13.94.2+9.742 ▲
4236–44Wolfsburg13.83.3+10.460 ▲
4340–48Bonn13.24.3+8.840 ▼
4440–49Oberhausen13.03.7+9.350 ▲
4543–56Bottrop12.53.6+8.953 ▲
4643–57Herne12.53.8+8.748 ▲
4743–58Gelsenkirchen12.33.7+8.649 ▲
4843–58Recklinghausen12.33.4+8.958 ▲
4944–59Hannover12.23.1+9.164 ▲
5045–59Göttingen12.13.7+8.452 ▲
5145–59Erfurt12.05.4+6.525 ▼
5245–59Solingen11.92.8+9.068 ▲
5345–60Dortmund11.83.5+8.457 ▲
5445–61Augsburg11.84.5+7.335 ▼
5545–62Hamm11.73.7+8.051 ▼
5645–63Bochum11.63.3+8.361 ▲
5746–64Braunschweig11.63.0+8.665 ▲
5847–66Salzgitter11.53.6+7.954 ▼
5949–66Münster11.42.7+8.769 ▲
6053–68Mülheim an der Ruhr10.92.9+8.066 ▲
6154–68Paderborn10.93.5+7.556 ▼
6255–68Gütersloh10.94.1+6.846 ▼
6356–70Bielefeld10.83.3+7.562 ▼
6457–70Chemnitz10.74.1+6.645 ▼
6558–70Essen10.72.9+7.867 ▲
6658–70Wuppertal10.62.4+8.271 ▲
6760–74Hagen10.13.5+6.655 ▼
6860–74Ulm10.14.2+5.841 ▼
6963–74Kassel10.04.5+5.537 ▼
7063–74Remscheid9.92.2+7.873 ▲
7167–74Siegen9.73.2+6.563 ▼
7267–74Aachen9.62.5+7.270 ▼
7367–74Osnabrück9.52.2+7.372 ▼
7467–74Bremen9.52.0+7.574 ·
7575–76Hamburg8.21.9+6.375 ·
7675–76Oldenburg (Oldb)7.81.4+6.376 ·
7777–78Lübeck6.31.2+5.177 ·
7877–79Rostock5.71.1+4.678 ·
7978–79Bremerhaven4.90.7+4.279 ·
80Kiel3.20.6+2.780 ·

Hot days: daily maximum ≥ 30 °C. “Increase” is the change from 1951–1960 to 2016–2025 in days per year. The same figures to download.

What can be changed

Where it is hottest, trees are often missing outside the front door

Five steps through the same chart. It shows how hot days and little green coincide – and in which quadrant the two add up most.

What the green share measures and what it does not

Satellite data measure how much of the residential surroundings is tree cover. Parks, cemeteries, gardens and forest edges count; dense city centres have less room for trees, which is a matter of urban form. Compared with the cities’ tree registers, the rank correlation is 0.508. This page shows tree cover around homes; the registers count the city’s street trees.

Share of residential surroundings with tree cover, weighted by the population of the 100 m cells of the 2022 Census – the same weighting as the heat figure.

0 5 10 15 20 25 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Green where people live, % Hot days per year, 2016–2025 → Mannheim: 24.3 hot days, 23.0 % green Ludwigshafen am Rhein: 24.0 hot days, 22.6 % green Karlsruhe: 23.9 hot days, 30.7 % green Regensburg: 23.7 hot days, 24.2 % green Darmstadt: 23.6 hot days, 30.1 % green Heidelberg: 22.4 hot days, 26.7 % green Heilbronn: 22.2 hot days, 21.8 % green Offenbach am Main: 22.2 hot days, 27.5 % green Frankfurt am Main: 22.2 hot days, 33.1 % green Erlangen: 21.2 hot days, 29.5 % green Kaiserslautern: 21.2 hot days, 28.7 % green Jena: 21.1 hot days, 36.1 % green Würzburg: 20.7 hot days, 26.1 % green Freiburg im Breisgau: 20.3 hot days, 35.9 % green Saarbrücken: 19.5 hot days, 39.1 % green Trier: 19.5 hot days, 35.6 % green Mainz: 19.3 hot days, 36.0 % green Dresden: 19.1 hot days, 37.0 % green Potsdam: 18.7 hot days, 43.7 % green Reutlingen: 18.5 hot days, 32.8 % green Fürth: 18.2 hot days, 20.6 % green Nürnberg: 17.9 hot days, 23.2 % green Stuttgart: 17.6 hot days, 32.1 % green Leipzig: 17.6 hot days, 26.5 % green Wiesbaden: 17.6 hot days, 39.3 % green Magdeburg: 17.4 hot days, 22.3 % green Berlin: 17.1 hot days, 38.4 % green Pforzheim: 17.0 hot days, 25.1 % green Halle (Saale): 16.5 hot days, 24.8 % green Köln: 15.9 hot days, 34.8 % green Koblenz: 15.7 hot days, 36.3 % green München: 15.2 hot days, 32.0 % green Leverkusen: 15.2 hot days, 43.2 % green Ingolstadt: 15.1 hot days, 20.1 % green Krefeld: 14.7 hot days, 42.8 % green Moers: 14.5 hot days, 36.3 % green Neuss: 14.2 hot days, 38.2 % green Mönchengladbach: 14.2 hot days, 32.1 % green Duisburg: 14.1 hot days, 42.7 % green Düsseldorf: 13.9 hot days, 34.5 % green Bergisch Gladbach: 13.9 hot days, 49.7 % green Wolfsburg: 13.8 hot days, 27.2 % green Bonn: 13.2 hot days, 46.8 % green Oberhausen: 13.0 hot days, 46.0 % green Bottrop: 12.5 hot days, 45.1 % green Herne: 12.5 hot days, 44.7 % green Gelsenkirchen: 12.3 hot days, 46.4 % green Recklinghausen: 12.3 hot days, 40.8 % green Hannover: 12.2 hot days, 33.0 % green Göttingen: 12.1 hot days, 34.6 % green Erfurt: 12.0 hot days, 30.6 % green Solingen: 11.9 hot days, 46.8 % green Dortmund: 11.8 hot days, 46.5 % green Augsburg: 11.8 hot days, 23.5 % green Hamm: 11.7 hot days, 29.9 % green Bochum: 11.6 hot days, 49.9 % green Braunschweig: 11.6 hot days, 29.1 % green Salzgitter: 11.5 hot days, 30.4 % green Münster: 11.4 hot days, 40.1 % green Mülheim an der Ruhr: 10.9 hot days, 49.1 % green Paderborn: 10.9 hot days, 37.0 % green Gütersloh: 10.9 hot days, 44.0 % green Bielefeld: 10.8 hot days, 44.8 % green Chemnitz: 10.7 hot days, 45.8 % green Essen: 10.7 hot days, 47.9 % green Wuppertal: 10.6 hot days, 38.6 % green Hagen: 10.1 hot days, 41.7 % green Ulm: 10.1 hot days, 30.2 % green Kassel: 10.0 hot days, 44.3 % green Remscheid: 9.9 hot days, 45.4 % green Siegen: 9.7 hot days, 50.2 % green Aachen: 9.6 hot days, 35.3 % green Osnabrück: 9.5 hot days, 37.8 % green Bremen: 9.5 hot days, 44.8 % green Hamburg: 8.2 hot days, 52.0 % green Oldenburg (Oldb): 7.8 hot days, 47.2 % green Lübeck: 6.3 hot days, 31.0 % green Rostock: 5.7 hot days, 41.6 % green Bremerhaven: 4.9 hot days, 28.7 % green Kiel: 3.2 hot days, 45.7 % green Hamburg Leverkusen Karlsruhe Mannheim Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ingolstadt
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Green where people live, % Hot days per year, 2016–2025 → Mannheim: 24.3 hot days, 23.0 % green Ludwigshafen am Rhein: 24.0 hot days, 22.6 % green Karlsruhe: 23.9 hot days, 30.7 % green Regensburg: 23.7 hot days, 24.2 % green Darmstadt: 23.6 hot days, 30.1 % green Heidelberg: 22.4 hot days, 26.7 % green Heilbronn: 22.2 hot days, 21.8 % green Offenbach am Main: 22.2 hot days, 27.5 % green Frankfurt am Main: 22.2 hot days, 33.1 % green Erlangen: 21.2 hot days, 29.5 % green Kaiserslautern: 21.2 hot days, 28.7 % green Jena: 21.1 hot days, 36.1 % green Würzburg: 20.7 hot days, 26.1 % green Freiburg im Breisgau: 20.3 hot days, 35.9 % green Saarbrücken: 19.5 hot days, 39.1 % green Trier: 19.5 hot days, 35.6 % green Mainz: 19.3 hot days, 36.0 % green Dresden: 19.1 hot days, 37.0 % green Potsdam: 18.7 hot days, 43.7 % green Reutlingen: 18.5 hot days, 32.8 % green Fürth: 18.2 hot days, 20.6 % green Nürnberg: 17.9 hot days, 23.2 % green Stuttgart: 17.6 hot days, 32.1 % green Leipzig: 17.6 hot days, 26.5 % green Wiesbaden: 17.6 hot days, 39.3 % green Magdeburg: 17.4 hot days, 22.3 % green Berlin: 17.1 hot days, 38.4 % green Pforzheim: 17.0 hot days, 25.1 % green Halle (Saale): 16.5 hot days, 24.8 % green Köln: 15.9 hot days, 34.8 % green Koblenz: 15.7 hot days, 36.3 % green München: 15.2 hot days, 32.0 % green Leverkusen: 15.2 hot days, 43.2 % green Ingolstadt: 15.1 hot days, 20.1 % green Krefeld: 14.7 hot days, 42.8 % green Moers: 14.5 hot days, 36.3 % green Neuss: 14.2 hot days, 38.2 % green Mönchengladbach: 14.2 hot days, 32.1 % green Duisburg: 14.1 hot days, 42.7 % green Düsseldorf: 13.9 hot days, 34.5 % green Bergisch Gladbach: 13.9 hot days, 49.7 % green Wolfsburg: 13.8 hot days, 27.2 % green Bonn: 13.2 hot days, 46.8 % green Oberhausen: 13.0 hot days, 46.0 % green Bottrop: 12.5 hot days, 45.1 % green Herne: 12.5 hot days, 44.7 % green Gelsenkirchen: 12.3 hot days, 46.4 % green Recklinghausen: 12.3 hot days, 40.8 % green Hannover: 12.2 hot days, 33.0 % green Göttingen: 12.1 hot days, 34.6 % green Erfurt: 12.0 hot days, 30.6 % green Solingen: 11.9 hot days, 46.8 % green Dortmund: 11.8 hot days, 46.5 % green Augsburg: 11.8 hot days, 23.5 % green Hamm: 11.7 hot days, 29.9 % green Bochum: 11.6 hot days, 49.9 % green Braunschweig: 11.6 hot days, 29.1 % green Salzgitter: 11.5 hot days, 30.4 % green Münster: 11.4 hot days, 40.1 % green Mülheim an der Ruhr: 10.9 hot days, 49.1 % green Paderborn: 10.9 hot days, 37.0 % green Gütersloh: 10.9 hot days, 44.0 % green Bielefeld: 10.8 hot days, 44.8 % green Chemnitz: 10.7 hot days, 45.8 % green Essen: 10.7 hot days, 47.9 % green Wuppertal: 10.6 hot days, 38.6 % green Hagen: 10.1 hot days, 41.7 % green Ulm: 10.1 hot days, 30.2 % green Kassel: 10.0 hot days, 44.3 % green Remscheid: 9.9 hot days, 45.4 % green Siegen: 9.7 hot days, 50.2 % green Aachen: 9.6 hot days, 35.3 % green Osnabrück: 9.5 hot days, 37.8 % green Bremen: 9.5 hot days, 44.8 % green Hamburg: 8.2 hot days, 52.0 % green Oldenburg (Oldb): 7.8 hot days, 47.2 % green Lübeck: 6.3 hot days, 31.0 % green Rostock: 5.7 hot days, 41.6 % green Bremerhaven: 4.9 hot days, 28.7 % green Kiel: 3.2 hot days, 45.7 % green Hamburg Leverkusen Karlsruhe Mannheim Ludwigshafen am Rhein Ingolstadt
One dot per major city. Tap a dot to see the city. Source: ESA WorldCover 10 m, CC BY 4.0, and Census 2022.

Green 1 / 5

The heat

Horizontal axis: hot days per year, 80 major cities. Kiel has the fewest, 3.2, Mannheim the most, 24.3. Without the second axis, they all sit on one line.

Green 2 / 5

Adding the green

Now each city’s green share comes in: how much of the residential surroundings is tree cover, seen from the satellite. Hamburg comes to 52.0 %, Ingolstadt to 20.1 %. The weighting uses the same 100 m cells as the hot days.

Green 3 / 5

They pull apart

The cloud of dots falls from top left to bottom right. The more hot days a city has, the less green there is where its people live. The burden piles up instead of evening out. Rank correlation −0.541; −1.0 would be a perfect inverse.

Green 4 / 5

The bottom-right quadrant

This is where both come together: above the median for heat, below the median for green. 28 of the 80 cities fall here, among them Darmstadt, Düsseldorf, Erlangen, Frankfurt am Main.

Green 5 / 5

What can be changed

The Upper Rhine Valley is not going to move, but a city’s green can be planted. Ingolstadt and Leverkusen count almost the same number of hot days, 15.1 and 15.2; but where people live, Leverkusen has twice as much green, 43.2 against 20.1 per cent. Twelve of the 80 cities are above the heat median and yet above the green median. This chart shows where shade would reach the most people.

What can be changed

Which cities have a heat action plan

The federal government has no overview of which municipalities have a heat action plan. For the 80 major cities it is given here, with a source for each. Of the 79 checked so far, 33 have a published plan and 25 have one that is in progress, announced or adopted but not yet available as a document.

Published (33): Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Offenbach am Main, Erlangen, Jena, Würzburg, Saarbrücken, Mainz, Nürnberg, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Wiesbaden, Magdeburg, Berlin, Pforzheim, Köln, Leverkusen, Ingolstadt, Düsseldorf, Bergisch Gladbach, Oberhausen, Dortmund, Augsburg, Hamm, Münster, Bielefeld, Wuppertal, Kassel, Bremen, Hamburg, Bremerhaven

In progress, announced or adopted (25): Regensburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Trier, Dresden, Fürth, Halle (Saale), Koblenz, Krefeld, Duisburg, Wolfsburg, Bonn, Bottrop, Herne, Gelsenkirchen, Recklinghausen, Göttingen, Erfurt, Bochum, Braunschweig, Chemnitz, Essen, Hagen, Aachen, Oldenburg (Oldb), Lübeck

Part of a climate adaptation concept (13): Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Heilbronn, Frankfurt am Main, Kaiserslautern, München, Mönchengladbach, Hannover, Salzgitter, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Paderborn, Osnabrück, Rostock, Kiel

Not found (8): Potsdam, Reutlingen, Moers, Neuss, Solingen, Gütersloh, Ulm, Siegen

Not yet checked (1): Remscheid

Sorted by rank in hot days. Counted are plans of the city’s own that are publicly available from the city or its public health office. “Not found” does not mean there is none: plans may exist internally or be called something else. “Not yet checked”: the city’s website could not be reached during the research, so we say nothing about its plan. Research as of 24 October 2026. Corrections and tips to kontakt@julianzuber.de.

The cross-check

Is that right? Grid against weather stations

For each of the 80 major cities, the nearest suitable weather station within 40 km was picked – by distance and length of record, not by result. There is no cut-off for deviations: whoever deviates widely stays in the evaluation. The same quantity is compared, days with a daily maximum of ≥ 30 °C from April to October, 2016–2025.

  • Order: Grid and stations rank the cities alike to 0.933 (rank correlation; 1.0 would be identical). If the list were calculated with the station values, a city would move by 3 places at the median, and by no more than 9 in 80 % of cities.
  • Difference in the figures: For 44 of 80 cities, grid and station are no more than 1 day apart, for 58 no more than 2 days, for 70 no more than 3 days. The typical difference (median of the absolute values) is 0.9 days, and for 80 % of cities no more than 2.5 days.
  • Increase: The increase from 1951–1960 to 2016–2025 agrees to 0.945 for the 39 cities whose station covers both periods.
  • Furthest apart:
    • Koblenz: grid 7.7 days higher than the station Hummerich (24.4 km away)
    • Saarbrücken: grid 4.8 days lower than the station Saarbrucken-Burbach (4.6 km away)
    • Bergisch Gladbach: grid 4.2 days lower than the station Koln-Stammheim (10.5 km away)

Part of the difference is an effect of location and not an error of the grid: a station stands at one spot, whereas the grid averages the places where the city’s people live. That is why the ranking shows, next to each place, the range the city would occupy if shifted by ±0.9 days. Cities whose ranges overlap cannot be ordered with certainty. Result per city: gegenprobe.csv.

The most striking value first

The biggest move in the field is made by Regensburg: rank 36 → 4, from 4.5 to 23.7 hot days a year.

A jump of this size can also be a data error. So every city that has moved 20 places or more is checked against the nearest weather station – period by period, with an independent measurement from another source.

That makes five cities, and for each of them the station confirms the rise. Grid and station are furthest apart for Regensburg: there the station measures 22.0 more days than in the fifties, the grid 19.2.

The absolute levels differ more, by up to 4.0 days. That is a location effect: a weather station stands somewhere in the city, the population centre elsewhere. What is compared is therefore the increase.

The five cities in detail, period by period

Regensburg ▲ 32 places

Station REGENSBURG, 3.2 km from the population centre. Largest difference in level: 2.9 days. Rise 1951–1960 to 2016–2025: grid +19.2, station +22.0 days.

PeriodGridStationDifferenceYears measured
1951–19604.54.6+0.110
1961–19706.16.4+0.310
1971–19805.25.5+0.310
1981–19906.66.7+0.110
1991–200011.111.6+0.510
2001–201015.416.6+1.210
2006–201516.017.0+1.010
2016–202523.726.6+2.910

München ▲ 27 places

Station MUNCHEN-NYMPHENBURG, 5.0 km from the population centre. Largest difference in level: 1.8 days. Rise 1951–1960 to 2016–2025: grid +11.8, station +14.4 days.

PeriodGridStationDifferenceYears measured
1951–19603.42.6−0.810
1961–19704.33.9−0.410
1971–19802.52.2−0.310
1981–19903.73.1−0.610
1991–20007.88.3+0.510
2001–201011.112.3+1.210
2006–201513.014.5+1.510
2016–202515.217.0+1.810

Erfurt ▼ 26 places

Station ERFURT-BINDERSLEBEN, 4.7 km from the population centre. Largest difference in level: 2.6 days. Rise 1951–1960 to 2016–2025: grid +6.5, station +5.4 days.

PeriodGridStationDifferenceYears measured
1951–19605.44.0−1.410
1961–19704.62.9−1.710
1971–19805.23.4−1.810
1981–19905.74.1−1.610
1991–20006.54.4−2.110
2001–20109.06.9−2.110
2006–20158.96.9−2.010
2016–202512.09.4−2.610

Ulm ▼ 27 places

Station MERKLINGEN, 20.2 km from the population centre. Largest difference in level: 4.0 days. Rise 1951–1960 to 2016–2025: grid +5.8, station +4.7 days. At a distance of 20.2 km, a constant offset is a location effect.

PeriodGridStationDifferenceYears measured
1951–19604.21.5−2.710
1961–19704.50.9−3.610
1971–19802.70.6−2.110
1981–19904.20.9−3.39
1991–20004.81.9−2.910
2001–20107.33.7−3.610
2006–20158.74.7−4.010
2016–202510.16.2−3.910

Kassel ▼ 32 places

Station WAHLSBURG-LIPPOLDSBERG, 34.8 km from the population centre. Largest difference in level: 1.6 days. Rise 1951–1960 to 2016–2025: grid +5.5, station +7.2 days. At a distance of 34.8 km, a constant offset is a location effect.

PeriodGridStationDifferenceYears measured
1951–19604.52.9−1.610
1961–19704.74.2−0.59
1981–19903.84.3+0.510
1991–20006.16.1−0.010
2001–20108.57.8−0.710
2006–20157.97.5−0.410
2016–202510.010.1+0.18

Method

How it was calculated

  1. Hot day: daily maximum ≥ 30 °C. DWD annual grid (1 km), 1951–2025; the grids do not go back further.
  2. Each 100 m cell of the 2022 Census takes the value of the 1 km grid cell it lies in.
  3. City value = mean weighted by the population of the 100 m cells. The figure applies to where people live.
  4. Period mean = arithmetic mean of the annual values. Rank: the highest value is rank 1; ties get the mean rank.
  5. Rank correlation = Spearman correlation between the rank in a period and the rank in 2016–2025. The periods do not overlap.
  6. Rank range = the places a city would occupy if its value were moved up or down by the typical difference between grid and weather station: 0.9 days, the median across all 80 cities (cross-check above).

Every figure on this page is calculated from the dataset when the page is built; none is typed in. If a value is missing, the space stays empty.

Two caveats

The earliest decade is the least certain. The grid is interpolated, and station density has changed since 1951. Of the eight periods, 1951–1960 therefore rests on the thinnest basis – and it is also the period used for comparison here.

Calculated with today’s boundaries. Today’s municipal boundaries and today’s population over historical grids. The statement is therefore “in the places where people live today”. That is a choice, and one could choose differently.

What this page deliberately does not do

The data

To recalculate

Long format, one row per city and year, with the official municipality code for joining with other datasets. The derived figures (period means, ranks, rank correlations) are kept separately so that nobody has to guess at rounding. And one row per city with the population-weighted centre – anyone building their own map needs exactly that, not the town hall. Column names are in German.

heisse-tage.csv long formatheisse-tage.json the samedekaden.csv means, ranks, correlationsstaedte.csv codes, centre, population, coveragegegenprobe.csv grid against weather station per city, rank rangevorlaeufig-2026.csv the current summer, separately

Sources and licence

Grid: DWD Climate Data Center, annual grid hot_days, 1 km, CC BY 4.0
Population: Federal Statistical Office and statistical offices of the Länder, Census 2022, population per 100 m grid cell (dl-de/by-2-0)

For publication: quote the licence text of both underlying sources verbatim, give the retrieval date and dataset version, and name the licence of your own derivative.

The charts individually

Each chart as SVG – scalable at will, for print and screen, with source and licence in the file. Free to use under CC BY 4.0, i.e. with attribution.

kaestchen.svg Hot days, national average, then and nowrangliste.svg All 80 major cities, 1951–1960 and 2016–2025waermestreifen.svg 80 cities, 1951–2025hitze-und-gruen.svg Hot days and green where people live

To embed a chart in your own page, each one also has its own address. It loads nothing extra, sets nothing and tracks nothing.

<iframe src="https://hitzeranking.de/en/einbetten/waermestreifen.html" width="100%" height="520" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="80 cities, 1951–2025 – hitzeranking.de"></iframe>

For the other charts, use the same path with kaestchen, rangliste or hitze-und-gruen.

Pass it on

QR code for hitzeranking.de/en/
qr-hitzeranking-en.svg for slides, scalable at willqr-hitzeranking-en.png as an image, in the page’s coloursqr-hitzeranking-en-schwarz.png black and white for print

Suggested citation

Dr. Julian Benedikt Zuber (2026): Heat Ranking of German Cities. https://hitzeranking.de/en/, as of 20 October 2026. Licence CC BY 4.0. Data: DWD Climate Data Center, annual grid hot_days, 1 km, CC BY 4.0; Federal Statistical Office and statistical offices of the Länder, Census 2022, population per 100 m grid cell (dl-de/by-2-0).

The other half

And the nights?

This list counts days above 30 degrees. Whether a city cools down again at night is not part of it – and the two rankings agree only to 0.23. Regensburg is at rank 4 here and at 79 for tropical nights; Mülheim an der Ruhr at 60 here and at 6 there.

Tropical nights in major German cities (in German) →

Going further

Maps for individual cities

An analysis of the city area exists for all 80 major cities on this list. The link is on each city page; detailed maps and analyses are possible for any city or municipality.

Stay up to date

Updates on the ranking

News about this list – the DWD annual grid for the current year, new analyses – is announced on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you prefer e-mail, send a short message; unsubscribing works the same way, with a reply.

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