BERLIN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Temperatures in western and southwestern Germany are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, breaking this year's heat record, the country's National Meteorological Service (DWD) has said.
So far, the hottest day this year was on June 19, with 39.2 degrees measured in two cities in the eastern part of the country.
The overall heat record in Germany has been 41.2 degrees, measured in the city of Duisburg on July 25, 2019, according to DWD.
In past summers, thousands of people in Germany died because of the heatwaves, the country's biggest social association VdK warned on Tuesday.
"We therefore urgently need a crisis (management plan)for such events, which particularly affect people in nursing homes and hospitals," said VdK president Verena Bentele.
In the capital city Berlin, the German Red Cross (DRK) is expecting a 10-percent increase in heat-related rescue operations in the coming days.
"We urgently appeal to the public to drink plenty of water, to stay in the shade if possible and to avoid heavy physical activities. This is especially true for vulnerable groups," a DRK Berlin spokesperson told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Rising temperatures and persistent droughts also have an impact on nature, especially forests. "This (increases the risk) of forest fires, and helps the spread of pests like the bark beetle," the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said.
In 2021, almost 41.1 million cubic meters of trees were felled due to insect-induced damage, accounting for 81.4 percent of damage-related logging and setting a new record, according to Destatis.
Flooding and extreme weather conditions last year caused damages worth more than 80 billion euros (82.1 billion U.S. dollars) in Germany, according to a study published by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) on Monday. (1 euro = 1.03 U.S. dollars)
