Special program "Germany is drying up" - RTL is postponing its program due to the heat

Created: 08/17/2022, 05:24

By: Christoph Gschossmann

The low water level of the Rhine means that areas of the Rhine bank near Bonn-Beul that are otherwise flooded appear.

© Henning Kaiser/dpa

There is no escaping the heat in Germany this summer.

Not on TV either: RTL is showing a special program and is postponing its program.

Cologne / Munich – Germany is groaning under the summer heat.

Hardly a day goes by without the German Weather Service issuing a warning about extreme temperatures.

On Monday (August 15), for example, the DWD warned almost all of East Germany about the heat.

Heat records are falling all over Europe, the thermometer sometimes climbs over 40 degrees, in more southern European countries even over 50. Forests are burning, rivers are drying up.

RTL: Subsequent programs are postponed - the station is planning a drought special

The heat is also causing changes on TV.

RTL changes its broadcast schedule on Tuesday evening.

The broadcaster shows an unscheduled "RTL news special: Germany is drying out" at 8:15 p.m.

That is why it will be important that not only the current heat wave, but a drought that has lasted for a long time in Germany.

Pinar Atalay is scheduled to lead the 15-minute broadcast, explaining the situation and the aftermath.

For this reason, RTL has to postpone the subsequent programs.

An old episode of "Undercover Boss" only starts at 8:30 p.m., "RTL direct" at 10:30 p.m.

The news program will be shortened by five minutes, so that “Spiegel TV Spezial” will start at 10:45 p.m., and “The unbelievably smartest person in the world” will start ten minutes late at 11:30 p.m.

The “RTL Nachtjournal” only starts at 12:40 a.m.

Germany is still a little away from the heat record from 2019

Although there were more than 40 degrees in this country due to many strong high pressure areas, the summer is still a bit away from the German record: on July 25, 2019, 41.2 degrees were determined in NRW.

40.3 degrees in Bad Mergentheim (Baden-Württemberg) was the highest value so far in 2022.

Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at the Institute for Meteorology at the University of Leipzig, said that man-made climate change is affecting the whole of Europe from stronger and more extreme periods of heat.

These are therefore related to the so-called jet stream - i.e. large wind bands five to ten kilometers high - whose circulation has changed.

After the drought, we are finally expecting rain this week.

However, the ground is too dry to absorb the water masses.

There is a risk of flooding.