By Elena Matera

Hamburg – Nearly 1,000 experts gathered in Hamburg from 23 to 25 September to discuss record heat, rising sea temperatures, storm risks and the question of how societies can better prepare for extreme weather.

The Extreme Weather Congress was held for the 16th time in 2026. For around 20 years, it has brought together experts – primarily from Germany – working in weather and climate research, urban planning, climate management, the media and medicine. Around 1,000 people registered this year, more than ever before.

The German Climate Management Conference was held in parallel. While the Extreme Weather Congress focused on the latest state of research and the risks associated with extreme weather, around 40 workshops at the Climate Management Conference addressed the energy transition, climate action and climate adaptation.

From Climate Research to Climate Communication

The programme covered a broad range of topics, from heat as a health risk and regional climate projections to ocean warming, storm risks, local adaptation and climate communication.

Speakers included meteorologist and television weather presenter Sven Plöger; Congress President Frank Böttcher; Tobias Fuchs, Executive Board Member for Climate and Environment at the German Weather Service (DWD); and Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Germany’s Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider also addressed the congress.

Other contributors included energy economist Claudia Kemfert of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), climate activist Luisa Neubauer and psychotherapist Anika Heck, who presented a revised media guide on climate reporting.

One of the highlights of the programme was the session “Around the World in 80 Minutes – Our Planet Live on Location”. Researchers and experts joined live from locations including the Arctic, Antarctica, Manaus, Fiji and the satellite control centre in Darmstadt.

A Congress with a Sense of Déjà Vu

The summer of 2026 was a recurring topic throughout the congress.

“For many years now, you get the sense that every Extreme Weather Congress brings a kind of déjà vu,” said meteorologist Sven Plöger. “We are saying similar things, only with temperatures gradually rising. Essentially, we are experiencing exactly what climate research has been telling us for decades.”

In Germany, the heatwave that began in mid-June was exceptionally intense. By the end of June, temperatures of up to 41.8°C had been recorded, with new daily or monthly records set at more than 95 per cent of German Weather Service stations. According to the German Weather Service, almost 16,000 people died in connection with the heatwaves. Following significant rainfall deficits, historic low water levels were also recorded at numerous river gauges.

Tobias Fuchs, Executive Board Member for Climate and Environment at the German Weather Service, told the congress: “It is quite possible that, 30 years from now, we will look back and realise that the summer of 2026, despite its record-breaking temperatures, was still one of the cooler ones.”

In his presentation, science journalist Harald Lesch criticised the fact that the almost 16,000 heat-related deaths had received little public attention from politicians.

“That is a scandal,” Lesch said. Public responses, he argued, should also have made clear that the heatwave was linked to climate change. He called on Germany’s major research organisations and the German Rectors’ Conference to make a clearer public commitment to climate action.

Climate communication and journalism were also key topics. Discussions explored why scientific warnings often fail to receive sufficient attention and why journalists should more consistently explain the links between extreme weather and climate change.

Psychologist and science journalist Christian Stöcker said: “We know everything, but we do none of the things we would need to do.”

In his view, this seemingly irrational behaviour can partly be explained by psychological patterns such as cognitive biases. However, he also pointed to the strategic communication of the oil and gas industry, which he said has spent decades promoting narratives that make political inaction easier. For Stöcker, the greatest problems therefore lie less in a lack of knowledge or in psychology than in political implementation and communication.

Oceans Warmer Than Ever

The oceans were another major focus of the congress. They absorb around 89 per cent of the additional energy entering the climate system as a result of human-induced climate change. In 2026, global average daily sea-surface temperatures at times reached levels higher than ever previously recorded for the respective time of year.

Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) also presented new measurements and analyses for the German coasts. According to its data, the North Sea reached an annual average surface temperature of 11.6°C in 2025, the highest since measurements began in 1969. The Baltic Sea recorded an annual average of 9.7°C, making 2025 its second-warmest year since 1990.

Ocean warming is changing habitats, encouraging algal blooms and contributing to sea-level rise.

Storms Are Becoming More Intense

The WorldRiskReport 2026 was also presented at the congress. For the first time, it includes a storm-risk ranking covering 193 countries.

According to the report, climate change is not making tropical cyclones more frequent, but it is increasing their intensity. Ten countries account for the majority of global exposure, with the Philippines, Mexico and Madagascar at the top of the list. Germany ranks 167th.

Whether a storm turns into a disaster, however, depends not only on wind speed. According to the report, building regulations, warning systems and social protection are also crucial factors.

Climate Damage Costs Billions

The economic consequences of the climate crisis were another major topic.

“Climate action is not what is expensive. Inaction is expensive,” said Claudia Kemfert of the German Institute for Economic Research during a presentation on the second day of the congress.

Between 2000 and 2021, climate-related damage in Germany amounted to at least €145 billion, she said, around €80 billion of it since 2018. Health impacts and damage to ecosystems are often not fully reflected in such calculations.

Kemfert also turned her attention to energy policy and warned against permanently cushioning the current fossil energy crisis through subsidies. While the costs of fossil fuels were rising, renewable energy was becoming cheaper. Nevertheless, she argued, policymakers continued to cling to fossil-fuel structures. Kemfert described this as the “last stand of the fossil fuel industries”, despite the fact that, in her view, the economic tipping point had long since been passed.

Germany needed to at least double the pace of renewable energy expansion and connect battery storage facilities to the grid more quickly, she said. Kemfert opposed new gas-fired power stations and further fuel-price subsidies, arguing that they could create new dependencies on fossil fuels. District heating networks also needed to be expanded more rapidly.

Her closing appeal was simple: “Just get on with it. Just do it!”

From Diagnosis to Adaptation

How can cities and municipalities better prepare for heat, heavy rainfall, flooding and storms? How can infrastructure, warning systems and disaster response be made more resilient? These questions were at the heart of many workshops and panel discussions.

The World Meteorological Organization is calling for investment in resilient infrastructure, weather and climate services, disaster preparedness and early-warning systems.

“The question is not whether the next extreme weather event will come,” said Celeste Saulo. “The question is whether we will be prepared for it.”

In their final declaration, participants at the Extreme Weather Congress called for “a significant strengthening of climate action at both national and international level” and demanded “an acceleration of climate adaptation as well as disaster and civil protection”.

They also called for the consistent implementation of the energy and heating transition towards renewable sources, faster approval procedures and accelerated expansion of large-scale energy storage facilities, as well as a significant simplification and acceleration of administrative and approval procedures – particularly when cities and municipalities apply for federal funding.

At international level, the declaration called for reliable investment in resilient infrastructure and early-warning systems accessible to everyone, as well as dependable financing for preparedness and adaptation in particularly vulnerable countries.

At local level, participants also called for more binding structures for cooperation between municipalities and businesses in order to close existing gaps in climate adaptation.