A weekend heatwave in Germany broke the national record for the highest recorded temperature.
The thermometer in Kitzingen in the southern state of Bavaria read 40.3 degrees on Sunday, breaking the 2003 record by 0.1 degrees, the German Weather Service said.
It was the highest temperature Germany has experienced since the start of record-keeping in 1881.
Efforts by Germans to keep cool proved deadly with 12 drownings reported in lakes, ponds, rivers and pools.
Storms that moved in Sunday night broke the heatwave, bringing a dip in temperatures alongside heavy rains, hail and winds of 90 to 100 kilometres per hour, a Weather Service spokeswoman said.
The storms caused some train cancellations as trees fell across rail lines.
Some lines near Hanover and elsewhere remained blocked Monday morning, and railway operator Deutsche Bahn said travellers should expect cancellations and delays until the afternoon.
Air travel was also impacted by the storms as 17 planes were diverted Sunday night from Berlin's Tegel Airport to other facilities and other flights from the airport were cancelled.
Two people were injured by lightning strikes.
Share
