Heat kills 3,000 people every summer in Germany

Around 3,000 people have died due to high temperatures during each of the past two summers in Germany, said both the country’s environment agency (UBA) and its disease control authority, the Robert Koch Institute. People aged over 75 with pre-existing conditions – such as dementia, or cardiovascular and lung diseases – are particularly affected, the researchers found. “Climate change will further exacerbate the problem of excess mortality in summer in the future,” warned UBA president Dirk Messner. “We need to significantly improve the way we deal with heat and adequately protect vulnerable population groups.”

Even one hot day can lead to an increase in mortality if there is no cooling at night and average temperatures exceed 20°C, said the researchers, who spent four years developing a more accurate calculation of heat-related deaths. If it stays hot for three or more days in a row without cooling down at night, the mortality rate continues to rise and reaches a consistently high level.

People in urban areas are at a higher risk than those living in the countryside, the report said. This is because temperatures in cities are often much higher due to artificial surfaces and reduced vegetation - also known as the urban heat island effect.

Heat is the greatest health risk in Germany caused by the climate crisis and authorities should do more to protect citizens against it, explained the German Climate Change and Health Alliance (KLUG), an alliance made up of more than 100 associations and institutions. The alliance called for mandatory heat protection at the local level, and for sufficient personnel and financial support from state and federal governments. The alliance said climate adaptation must be taken into account in all investment decisions. Last year, Germany’s health ministry called on the country’s hospitals and care facilities to be more prepared for increasingly frequent heatwaves.