150 years Hamburg weather map

17 February 2026

Erste tägliche Wetterkarte vom 16. Januar 1876. Erschienen im ab 1. Januar 1876 gedruckten täglichen "Wetterberichts der Deutschen Seewarte"

Photo: Deutsche Seewarte

150 years ago, on February 16, 1876, the first daily weather map was published as a supplement to the daily "Wetterbericht der Deutschen Seewarte" (“Weather Report of the German Maritime Observatory”), which had been printed since January 1, 1876.

Wladimir Köppen, then head of Department III of the Deutsche Seewarte, had written and drawn the report and the map by hand himself. According to the biography published in 1955 by Köppen’s daughter, Else Köppen-Wegener, this report and map are “the germ cell of the German daily weather overview.”

Anyone who would like to learn more about Köppen can find an overview poster about his life here:

Claußen, Martin (2018), Wladimir Köppen, Poster (PDF)

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