Most Germans impaired by heat as country experiences record summer temperatures – survey

Most people in Germany say they feel personally affected by the recent heatwaves that marked the country’s second-warmest summer on record, a representative survey commissioned by the Healthy Earth – Healthy People Foundation (GEGM) found. Only the summer of 2003 is likely to have been warmer, according to preliminary data by meteorological service DWD.

Eighty-three percent of German adults surveyed reported at least one health-related or everyday impairment, such as sleep problems, exhaustion, restricted leisure activities or reduced productivity and concentration at work, according to the GEGM survey. Eighty-one percent said they were concerned about an increase in heatwaves and 82 percent about drought and water shortages. The majority (64%) said they considered the government’s heat protection efforts as insufficient. 

“Thousands of people have died as a result of the heatwave, the drought is destroying harvests, and people are suffering from the highly harmful smoke from the forest fires,” said GEGM director Kerstin Blum. “We need climate protection to safeguard public health, and a healthcare system that is prepared for future heatwaves and extreme weather events.”

A separate survey commissioned by environmental NGO WWF Germany found that two-thirds (67%) of Germans expect the federal government to do more to combat climate change in the face of heatwaves and extreme weather. 

Extreme heat, widespread drought and historically low river levels marked Germany’s summer of 2026, with an unprecedented average of 22 days recorded where temperatures surpassed 30 degrees Celsius across the country, DWD said. “Whilst July and August were comparatively moderate in the north, the south and south-west experienced exceptional and persistent heat stress over large areas,” the agency added.

According to an attribution study by the DWD, Germany’s heatwave from 18 to 28 June was unprecedented in terms of duration, extent and intensity. During this time, the country experienced the highest temperature ever recorded at 41.8°C on 27 June, as well as the highest night-time minimum between 27 and 28 June, with temperatures not falling below 29.4°C. Given the rarity of this event in the current climate, it was not possible to determine a probability for a pre-industrial climate, the report said. Across the available observations and numerous models, such a heat wave was "statistically impossible" in a pre-industrial climate, it said, and added that events that were previously considered extremely rare, or even impossible, are occurring with increasing frequency and may lead to even higher temperature records and longer periods of extreme conditions in the future.

The consequences of drought and heatwaves this summer could cost the German economy at least 36 billion euros, environmental NGO Greenpeace has said. The organisation added up estimated damages in the transport, health, forestry and agriculture sectors, as well as productivity losses resulting from the heat. Around 15,800 people have died in Germany from heat-related causes so far this summer, according to estimates from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).