The drought monitor of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) shows a worrying development: Many regions in Germany are currently experiencing a drought with a statistical annuality of 50 years. The topsoil, which has hardly stored any water in the last 30 days, is particularly affected. The water available to plants is also at an all-time low in many places. Plant-available water is the proportion of soil water that can actually be absorbed by plants. It is located in the root zone and is neither so tightly bound to soil particles that plants cannot dissolve it, nor so loose that it immediately seeps away.
In mid-May 2025, the situation is dramatic, especially in northern Germany, where the soil has dried out over large areas. Agricultural yields are at risk, forests are suffering from drought stress and the risk of fire is increasing. The Drought Monitor deliberately distinguishes between topsoil, total soil and plant-available water in order to be able to precisely map both short-term dry phases and far-reaching drought developments. The Drought Monitor provides daily updated maps of soil moisture and is an important tool for precautionary measures.
The Soil Moisture Viewer from the German Weather Service (DWD) is particularly useful for the agricultural sector. The soil moisture viewer is an interactive online tool that provides detailed information on soil moisture in Germany. It shows the current soil moisture situation and enables dryness and drought to be analyzed using various maps and time series. Users can retrieve specific data for different regions and depths to understand the impact on agriculture and the environment. The DWD also offers regular assessments of current precipitation trends. The seasonal climate forecast newsletter is published in the middle of each month and can be subscribed to via the following link.
It is important to incorporate this data from the UFZ and DWD more strongly into local planning. Municipalities, farmers and decision-makers can obtain specific information and derive measures. Effective prevention can only succeed with well-founded information.
To the drought monitor: www.ufz.de/duerremonitor
To the soil moisture viewer: Soil moisture viewer
(Imagesource: DWD and UFZ)