;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=b484ad3c5b0b6ddd66c5d9fe9f46ee2fd39a4667eeb72161d7cdbeb83de762b2 "A number shows why Germany needs a heat plan")
A “heat protection plan” is intended to better prepare Germany for the consequences of heat waves. “With climate change, the occurrence of heat waves has become more and more likely,” says the draft of an impulse paper by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), which became public on Sunday and about which the “Bild am Sonntag” (Bams) first reported. Accordingly, heat affects “our health, our well-being and the performance of our society”.
On Monday afternoon from 2.45 p.m. Lauterbach will therefore exchange views with those affected, experts and responsible department colleagues. “Heat protection is life protection,” said Lauterbach of “Bams”. “Elderly people, those in need of care, those with previous illnesses, but also children, pregnant women and people who spend a lot of time outdoors, professionally or privately, are at risk when heat waves roll over Germany.”
“Humans die above 42 degrees body temperature”
In fact, experts have long been warning of the health consequences of heat change on the population when it comes to heat. Data from the German Weather Service (DWD) shows that the number of days with temperatures above 30 degrees has almost doubled in most German regions since 1960. This heat, in turn, is a serious health burden for people with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes or cardiovascular problems. But pregnant women and infants are also at risk, as are people who work outdoors a lot or do sports.
According to the German Alliance for Climate Change and Health (KLUG), the German Medical Association and the German Nursing Council, a total of 4,500 people died from heat in 2022 alone. In 2018, with its particularly hot summer, there were even 8,700 heat deaths. “Especially when it comes to the danger of heat, we feel that we as humans have limits to adaptation,” says Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, environmental doctor from Augsburg and climate officer of the Bavarian state government. “People die from a body temperature of 42 degrees.”
Health system at the limit
So far, heat protection has been a rather voluntary task that only a few committed municipalities have devoted themselves to. As early as 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) made recommendations for functioning heat protection, but little has happened in Germany since then. “Germany is lagging behind other countries when it comes to heat protection,” says Klaus Reinhardt, President of the German Medical Association.
After a historic heat wave in 2003 that killed tens of thousands across the continent, France, for example, introduced a multi-stage heat warning system. “Our healthcare system is currently unable to absorb a real heat wave that lasts longer than two or three days,” warns Peter Bobbert, President of the Medical Association of the State of Berlin.
Alert by SMS
Only recently had Lauterbach announced a “concerted action” to better protect citizens. According to the paper that is now available, the plan aims, among other things, to reduce deaths, trigger concrete protective measures and better educate about heat hazards.
The use of the weather service’s heat warning system should play a role in this, in order to warn people and take action if necessary. For example, it is being examined how as many people as possible can be reached digitally, for example through apps or via SMS, according to the paper. However, precise data was still missing, and the Robert Koch Institute should adjust its work here if necessary.
Lots of training, few rules
The board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, identified gaps in Lauterbach’s project. “Not declarations of intent, action alliances and papers protect millions of old and sick people from the heat of climate change,” he said on Sunday. “Without billions of dollars in investment from the federal and state governments, a national heat protection plan is not worth much.”
Brysch demanded a heat protection plan with building regulations, according to which new buildings without a temperature limit of a maximum of 25 degrees in each resident’s room should no longer be put into operation. The ministry’s paper does not mention investments in this area, instead it is about training and raising awareness among hospital and nursing staff.
The health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Andrew Ullmann, called for pragmatic regulations and heat protection for health facilities. “Overheated hospitals and nursing homes can lead to longer stays and deaths.”
Germans think more needs to be done
According to a survey by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the health insurance company DAK Gesundheit, the vast majority of Germans know what to do in the heat – 88 percent said so. Another 10 percent were unsure, only 2 percent stated that they did not know the right behavior.
The majority of those surveyed therefore find the measures to protect against heat insufficient. 72 percent said more needs to be done. Around one in five (21 percent) finds the existing measures sufficient. DAK CEO Andreas Storm welcomed Lauterbach’s announcements. “Children, the sick and the elderly in particular need better protection from the heat. We need emergency measures for this summer.”