“It was a strange season”

Summer comes to an end on Wednesday – at least according to meteorologists' chronology, autumn begins on September 1st. The summer balance in Hamburg is meanwhile mixed. It was a summer that started late and was characterized by record temperatures and a noticeable drought.

The German weather service reported that the summer of 2022 was too warm and too dry. The meteorologists counted a record-breaking 780 hours of sunshine, compared to an average of 618 hours in recent years. Instead of an average temperature of 16.5 degrees, the average temperature this year was 18.8 degrees.

With only 120 liters of rain per square meter, there was almost 100 liters less rain per square meter (218 is the long-term average) than usual. And then there was the new record temperature for the Hanseatic city. On July 20, 40.1 degrees were measured in the Neuwiedenthal district, a new all-time high.

There is no talk of a new all-time high for the Hanseatic city's outdoor pools. Pool operator Baederland speaks of a "curious outdoor pool season" this summer. "Although we were initially able to start later due to the weather and then due to a shortage of staff, during the holidays it was a summer that we like, but unfortunately only rarely have: warm, sunny, reliable and constantly beautiful weather," said Baederland spokesman Michael Dietel on Tuesday in Hamburg. Overall, the season was therefore average, "but in no way comparable to previous years". Because the two previous years were characterized by Corona requirements and restrictions and correspondingly fewer visitors.

In the Kiwittsmoor natural outdoor pool, which is operated by the Hamburger Turnerbund, the high season ended abruptly after the hot days in July. The warm water was infested with cercaria, small flukes. Bathers complained of skin rashes and the bath closed for several days to replace the water in its pool - ground water without chemical additives. As a result, many bathers stayed away from the bath. However, operations are still ongoing.

At the operator Baederland, the season ends in most pools this Tuesday. Only the Kaifu-Bad and the Stadtparksee should remain open for the time being. "We'll see how the number of visitors stays there. Usually there is not much going on at 20 to 22 degrees in September. But there are seven year-round outdoor pools in which you can still swim outside.” At the same time, the saunas are to be reopened from September 1st.

In order to be able to ensure the season in the outdoor and year-round pools in Hamburg to a large extent, Baederland had closed its saunas completely in summer and the opening times in the indoor pools had been adjusted. At times, the company was short of about 80 full-time employees, including many lifeguards.

Most of the rescue operations took place on the two hot days in July, with temperatures sometimes around 40 degrees: lifeguards went out on missions around 100 times. In most cases, parents had not fulfilled their duty of care, people had overestimated themselves in the heat or they had come into the bathroom for the first time because of the temperatures and were therefore generally overwhelmed, it was said.

According to the information, a lifeguard was able to successfully revive a seven-year-old in the Wandsbek indoor pool who was in the pool without an adult supervisor. Baederland spokesman Dietel appealed in this context that non-swimmers must always be supervised. “Unfortunately, this is a situation that we are seeing more and more often. Or that attending parents are distracted. Both are irresponsible.” Children are only safe swimmers with a bronze badge.