Forest fires in Germany 2025: The current situation in maps - where are the fires burning?

This year's spring was far too dry in large parts of Germany. Not only was there too little rain in March, April, and May, but Germany also experienced too little precipitation in the winter. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), only about half the usual amount fell in February.

In May, the topsoils in northern and northeastern Germany, as well as from Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate to northern Bavaria and southern Thuringia, were much drier than usual.

The following map shows the "usable field capacity"—the amount of water available to plants at a depth of 30 to 40 centimeters. So far, this year's pattern is reminiscent of the drought year of 2022.

Deeper in the soil, the situation is currently even better. These layers will benefit from the wet weather from mid-2023 to the end of 2024. Crops sown in the fall, such as rapeseed and winter cereals, can usually still draw sufficient water from these deeper soil layers. Forests will also continue to receive sufficient water for a longer period.

Nevertheless, Katrin Drastig of the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering warns: "The nationwide rainfall deficit in spring 2025 and the resulting soil dryness represent a hydrological 'mortgage' for the summer that must be offset in the coming months."

How hot and dry will the summer be? Meteorologists currently cannot provide a definitive answer to this question. However, climate models are showing an alarming trend.

For some plants, spring drought is even more severe than midsummer drought because seedlings don't yet have an extensive root system, and their growth is disrupted during this early phase. "The result is developmental delays that persist throughout the entire growing season and can hardly be compensated for even under favorable conditions later on," says Drastig.

Insufficient rainfall also leads to low water levels in streams, rivers, and lakes. The low water level in the Rhine is increasingly affecting inland shipping. Even though cargo ships can continue to sail, they often have to forgo some of their cargo to avoid running aground.

Persistent drought and heat also lead to an increased risk of forest fires. This was demonstrated in 2018, 2019, and 2022, when numerous fires raged in German forests.

Using data from 500 weather stations in Germany, the DWD creates an index that indicates the danger of a forest fire in five levels.

Almost all forest fires are caused by human negligence—natural triggers such as lightning strikes play a virtually insignificant role. The fires cause long-lasting damage: It takes many decades to reforest a burned forest.

Therefore, smoking should generally be avoided in the forest, advises the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation. Even tiny, glowing ash particles could trigger a forest fire. Furthermore, fires should not be lit away from barbecue areas. Broken glass, on the other hand, poses less of a risk because the shards rarely reach the necessary temperatures.

The US space agency NASA uses its satellites to constantly determine where fires are burning. The following map shows areas of one square kilometer each where a fire was spotted in the past week, as red dots.