Preparation for heat summer 2024: Current measures and plans in Germany

Preparation for heat summer 2024: Current measures and plans in Germany

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach announced better protection in heat waves last year. What has happened since then, asks the "pharmacies Umschau"?

Germany has been breaking records again and again for years. Now a current study by the universities of Mainz and Cambridge comes to the conclusion: The summer of 2023 has been the hottest in northern countries for 2000 years.

Many people suffer from extreme temperatures, especially in the cities. Older, small children, but also homeless people are particularly affected. And: heat can also be life -threatening. According to the Robert Koch Institute, there were around 3200 heat-related deaths last year.

Politics is under pressure to act in view of these numbers. Last summer, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) presented a first heat protection plan for Germany. In it he announced various steps to be better prepared for heat waves in the future. But many of these measures are still stuck in the planning phase.

After all, there has been a so -called roadmap for the summer of 2024 since November. In this, the minister, together with representatives from the federal government, the states and municipalities, has further specified some goals for heat protection. The paper should now serve as a "working and planning basis for the implementation of heat protection measures in summer 2024", as a spokeswoman for the ministry explains on request. "Preparations for this are currently underway." In addition, it is also checked whether heat protection can be anchored in the prevention law in the future.

Via a heat telephone, flyer or a special website, citizens in many cities are sensitized to the correct use of heat, including in Stuttgart, Erfurt, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Wiesbaden and Dresden. Berlin, Stuttgart, Potsdam and Düsseldorf also have cool places on a special map. These include shady green areas, water playgrounds, bathroom options or air -conditioned buildings such as museums and libraries. Such a card is also being planned in Stuttgart. There is also a chilled heat bus.

In Hanover, institutions are financially supported so that they can provide homeless people with drinking water and sun protection. Homeless people can also use tunnel stations to cool off. There is a similar concept in Erfurt. There, churches are asked to grant homeless people on hot summer days. Many state capitals such as Bremen, Erfurt, Dresden, Düsseldorf and Wiesbaden also rely on the expansion of drinking water fountain in public places. In Düsseldorf, so -called fogches are also set up at sporting events.

Perspectively, Düsseldorf also wants to seal areas, gently green the courtyards and facades. There are also similar plans in Dresden. For more plants in the city, you also work in Hanover with a so -called mobile green. This can be placed in large buckets in places, for example, where permanent planting is not possible for various reasons.

However, very few cities have created a structured heat action plan. Such a plan is currently in the elaboration, explained a spokesman for the Hamburg social authority. In Kiel, Dresden, Potsdam, Erfurt and Magdeburg you are still in the planning. The city of Bremen wants to present a finished heat action plan for coordination this summer.

This message and further information on the current study by the universities of Mainz and Cambridge can be found at www.a-u.de.

** municipal measures for coping with heat wave **

| City | Measures |
| ————— | —————————————————————————————————————— | Stuttgart | Heat card, chilled heat bus |
| Erfurt | Heat card, admission to homeless people in churches on hot days |
| Bremen | Heat card, expansion of drinking water fountain |
| Düsseldorf | Heat card, expansion of drinking water fountain, fog show at sporting events |
| Wiesbaden | Heat card, expansion of drinking water fountain |
| Dresden | Heat card, expansion of drinking water fountain, folding of areas, greening of courtyards and facades |
| Hanover | Heat card, financial support for facilities for the supply of homeless people, use of tunnel stations to cool down homeless | | Potsdam | Heat card |
| Berlin | Heat card |
| Magdeburg | In planning a heat action plan |
| Kiel | In planning a heat action plan |
| Hamburg | In preparation of a structured heat action plan |

Source: word & picture publishing group - health reports/ots