Analysis of German climatic variations during the period of instrumental record

The purpose of this investigation is to characterize climatic changes that have occurred in Germany based on historical observational records. Analyses show that mean annual temperatures in Germany have warmed by 0.66°C over the past 140 years with most of this warming occurring during the low‐sun seasons and early in this century. Very long‐term records from three German stations, which are similar to long‐term data from surrounding stations, reveal no warming over the past 200+ years. All of the temperature records show the period near 1890 to be anomalously cool. As with many other parts of the world, the diurnal temperature range in Germany has declined slightly while precipitation totals and cloud cover have increased; precipitation and the diurnal temperature range have a strong and negative correlation over the period 1950–1989. Historical climatic variations in Germany generally are consistent with patterns found for other mid‐latitude locations around the world.