The country recorded 1,783 hours of sunshine by the end of September, more than the usual full-year total. Preliminary DWD figures suggest 2026 could approach the 2022 record.
Germany recorded 1,783 hours of sunshine from January through September, according to preliminary figures from the German Weather Service (DWD) cited by Tagesspiegel. The average full-year total is 1,665 hours.
The record-sunny year of 2022 had logged 1,769 hours by the same point, leaving this year already ahead. The final ranking will depend on autumn weather: an average of about 200 sunshine hours is added between October and New Year.
The newspaper places the latest figures in a broader pattern of increasingly sunny conditions. Longer dry, bright spells may be welcome for leisure, but they can also put pressure on water supplies and agriculture.