Action day for heat: help for homeless people at the Schäfersee!

Action day for heat: help for homeless people at the Schäfersee!

Schäfersee, Deutschland - On June 4, 2025, there was an action day against heat on Lake Schäfersee in Berlin, which was initiated by the health city councilor Uwe Brockhausen (SPD). Together with the organization Fixpunkt e.V., comprehensive support for homeless and needy people was offered. The campaign included the distribution of water, sunscreen, disinfectants and other aids to help those that are particularly exposed to the weather conditions. Fixpunkt e.V. has been involved in road social work for many years and made its expertise available to help people in need in this critical period. Brockhausen underlined the dangers that extreme heat for people in vulnerable groups, especially for older and homeless people.

The focus of the initiative is on the protection of endangered persons. According to a study by the Robert Koch Institute and the Federal Environment Agency, the past few years have shown an alarming increase in heat-related deaths. Between 2018 and 2020, for the first time since 1992, there has been an overrodibility in Germany due to heat over three consecutive years, which underlines the urgency of such actions. Professor Fellner warns that hot days will be more and more intensive in the future, while several thousand people are already dying in heat annually.

The health risks of increasing temperatures

The increase in premature birth rate by heat waves, which internally treated pregnant patients, is particularly worrying. Extreme heat also has a negative impact on people with existing previous illnesses. The human body has a normal core temperature of 37 degrees Celsius; At extreme temperatures, heat regulation can fail, which can lead to heat strokes and other severe health risks.

social inequalities and access to heat protection

With the increase in extreme weather events, social inequalities are also tightened. Around 260,000 people live in Germany without an apartment, and many have little access to cool places or cold drinks, for example in Leipzig, where the city administration has created a heat action plan. There, too, flyers were written in ten languages ​​to provide information about cool places. In contrast, in many cities, such as Magdeburg, access to drinking water is severely restricted by the dismantling of public fountains.

The challenges for coping with heat waves require urgent measures and strategies to protect both homeless and other endangered people. It remains to be hoped that further actions for awareness and education will follow over heat protection in order to curb the tragic consequences of extreme heat.