German government calls for national heatwave action plan
As temperatures soar, Germany’s State Secretary for Environment calls for a national heatwave action plan to protect residents and adapt cities.
Temperatures in Germany have reached unprecedented highs, with residents enduring yet another intense heatwave. The state secretary for the environment, Jochen Flasbarth, is urging the government to take more decisive action. The country has been grappling with water shortages, scorching 40-degree Celsius temperatures, and train cancellations during this scorching summer.
While some federal states have implemented heat protection plans, Flasbarth maintains that a national heatwave action plan is necessary to address the issue comprehensively.
According to Flasbarth, the lessons learned from this summer suggest that a national heatwave action plan will be required for future summers as well. The individual states have a role to play in heat prevention measures, as do local authorities and the federal government. Flasbarth questioned the wisdom of renovating the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin without planting a single tree, highlighting that tree planting in urban areas can provide valuable shade and help reduce temperatures in big cities.
The June heatwave alone resulted in 5,780 excess deaths across Germany, as residents struggled to stay cool. The country is also facing increasingly severe thunderstorms and wildfires. To support this free, reliable, and accessible source of information for internationals in Germany, donations are being accepted.
Written by urgent.news from IamExpat Germany (All Germany News)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
