1,800 People in the Düren District Have Been Ordered to Leave Their Homes, With the Weather Service Forecasting Temperatures of Up to 38

A district in North Rhine-Westphalia has been evacuated due to a wildfire as Europe grapples with extreme heat and drought. Around 1,800 people in the Düren district have been ordered to leave their homes, with the weather service forecasting temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius in several parts of the country. The ongoing heat has led to severe dryness across Europe, prompting weather services in multiple countries to warn of renewed extreme temperatures, including in Germany.

The German Raiffeisen Association estimates this year's grain harvest at 40.6 million tons, down from 45 million tons in 2025. Extreme low water levels in rivers are increasingly straining the economy, requiring significantly more trips to transport the same amount of freight. In Hungary and Romania, nuclear power plant operations have had to be reduced due to low water levels. The heat poses a particular danger to older people, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing conditions. According to the Robert Koch Institute, at least 12,500 people have died in Germany as a result of the recent heatwave.