Wiesbaden. The risk of forest fires in Hesse is expected to increase in the coming days. The highest warning level 5 will be achieved on Tuesday, the meteorologist announced at the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach, Jörg Rakette. The weather stays hot and dry. The climax of the heat wave with temperatures sometimes well over 30 degrees is expected for Wednesday. On Thursday, a cold front should move in and partly bring precipitation, so that the risk of forest fire is expected to decrease again. Via the forest fire index of the weather service, five levels – from 1 “very low danger” to 5 “very high danger”. Strong wind, low humidity and strong sunlight are factors that drive the index up. It is collected at different measuring stations for each federal state. In times of drought, a heat wave can help with hot and dry winds, for example, that fires become more intense and larger within a very short time and that fighting becomes more difficult. In the heat, the vegetation dries out faster and soil moisture is lost faster. Depending on the climatic conditions, heat waves also increase the risk of forest fires-especially in the Mediterranean countries, but increasingly also in Germany, as the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research says. Dryness is always the prerequisite for the forest fire. In 2022 there were 264 forest fires, in 2024 only 25th (dpa.)
Go to source