Germany sees deadliest summer as heat-related mortality surpasses 16,000

Around 16,300 people died of heat-related causes in Germany this summer, according to data from the disease control authority Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The RKI measures so-called heat-related excess mortality: the number of deaths during heatwaves above expected mortality under “normal” temperatures for the period between 6 April and 23 August. No other summer on record has been deadlier in terms of heat than this year’s, with temperatures breaching records across many parts of Germany and staying high for longer periods.

The most vulnerable group are people over the age of 75, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Heat continues to be a serious threat to human health, with more people dying of heat-related causes than of any other weather-related event in Europe.

Germany’s construction industry has called for better building codes to protect against heat, for example by requiring blinds, shutters or green façades, warning that flats could become uninhabitable in hot summers. Construction workers, meanwhile, have called for financial compensation if they cannot work due to heat, similar to the country’s bad weather allowance during winter months. Care workers have also called for more heat protection in hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and nursing homes.

Densely built-up urban areas with limited greenery are especially affected by higher temperatures, as concrete surfaces trap heat, creating the so-called urban heat island effect. As a response, for example, the city of Berlin passed a law proposed by a citizen initiative to roughly double the city’s tree stock to one million by 2040.

Germany has made climate adaptation legally binding, requiring cities and municipalities to draw up risk assessments and climate protection plans. While some areas have comprehensive heat protection plans that coordinate warning systems and responses, others have yet to address heat specifically. The financing of measures remains a major hurdle.

With Europe warming twice as fast as the global average, cities across the continent are pioneering efforts to withstand deadly heatwaves, prolonged droughts and devastating floods. Urban resilience is on the rise, but even simple measures like planting more trees can prove harder to implement than expected.