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Germany’s 2025 Ground-Strike Lightning Count Falls to Record Low

Dry summer conditions left Germany with the fewest ground strikes in the Aldis/Blids record.

Overview

  • Aldis/Blids logged 99,930 cloud-to-ground strikes in 2025, about half of 2024’s 209,619 and the lowest in its published series for Germany.
  • Activity clustered in the usual peak months at reduced levels, led by June (29,453), July (23,986) and May (18,837), with only one strike recorded in December.
  • DWD meteorologists attribute the shortfall to a generally dry thunderstorm season and weaker lifting, with a cooler spell in July further suppressing convection.
  • State figures show widespread lows: Bavaria led with 30,096, followed by Baden-Württemberg (14,813) and North Rhine-Westphalia (11,057), while Schleswig-Holstein logged 1,824 and Berlin 105.
  • Counts reflect Aldis/Blids’ method of recording only ground strikes once per flash, and the service also reports 2025 as the weakest year in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France.