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WEATHER

How high is Germany’s risk of forest fires right now?

There's a serious downside to Germany's current spate of dry, summery weather and that's a risk of forest fires. So just how big a risk is there?

Published: 10 June 2023 17:29 CEST
A firefighting vehicle is pictured as smoke from a wildfire is seen in Beelitz, southwest of Berlin, eastern Germany
A firefighting vehicle is pictured as smoke from a wildfire is seen in Beelitz, southwest of Berlin, eastern Germany, on June 19, 2022. A combination of hot, dry and windy weather has increased the risk of forest fires in Germany. Photo: Odd ANDERSEN / AFP 

According to the German Weather Service DWD’s forest fire index, the risk is high to very high across much of the country until Tuesday.

The danger is greatest in the northeast where the highest warning level – level five, shown as dark red on the map – is in force in several places.

There are red level 4 areas in Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.

But levels of at least three are forecast for some regions of all of Germany’s states. 

The maps show the risk of forest fires across Germany from Saturday to Wednesday (L to R). Dark red areas represent the highest risk level, level 5.

Where are the fires at the moment?

The number of larger forest fires in Germany is manageable at the moment.

A fire on a former military training area near Jüterbog, south of Berlin has been burning since 31 May as wind keeps fanning the fire over the area, which is over 700 hectares.

This is not the first time the area south of Berlin has been affected by massive forest fires. In August 2018, over 600 people were evacuated from their homes after a fire broke out in the former military training area.

And last year there were more than 500 fires in forest-dense Brandenburg – the highest number in years.

READ ALSO: Germany’s biggest forest fire of the year continues to spread near Berlin

A fire in a 50-hectare forest and moor area near Göldenitz, south of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has also been burning for a few days.

Why is the risk so high right now?

The lack of rain over the past few weeks in conjunction with high temperatures, wind and low humidity, can increase the risk of forest fires, according to DWD information.

Temperatures are well above 25C across much of Germany on Saturday.

The top layers of soil are bone dry in many places, said DWD agricultural meteorologist Andreas Brömser.

This applies to large parts of the north and east, but also to some areas in northern Baden-Württemberg, parts of Saarland, Franconia and the Upper Palatinate.

In some areas, the upper soil layers are as dry as they would usually be in August.

This situation is unlikely to change in the short term, either.

According to the DWD, there are no forecasts for persistent rain across the country.

It would need to rain for a prolonged period so that the water could soak through the bone-dry soil – dried-out soils can generally not absorb water quickly enough during short bursts of heavy rain.

Should you be worried about the impact on your health?

The high levels of smoke produced by forest fires can have health consequences, but if you can only smell the fire, it’s not a health risk at that point, said Torsten Bauer from the German Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine.

Toxic gases and harmful soot are produced during combustion, but these only become dangerous when you can also see the smoke and fire, the lung specialist said. 

Those with lung or respiratory diseases, such as asthma, should be particularly careful as the pollutants can narrow the airways and soot can also cause lung damage.

So what should you do?

If there is a forest fire nearby, make sure you keep the windows closed.

READ ALSO: Hundreds evacuated near Berlin as forest fire threatens villages

What causes most forest fires?

Reckless behaviour plays a big part, according to experts.

“Campfires, barbecues or cigarette butts thrown away carelessly pose a high risk,” said Torge Brüning, fire protection engineer at R+V Versicherung.

Are there rules in place to help prevent fires?

Yes, there are strict rules in force across the country to protect forests. Open fires are strictly prohibited in all forests and nature reserves in Germany – with campfires, grills and camping stoves all falling under the ban. 

And, from March to October, there is also an absolute ban on smoking in forests across the country.

In some states, forests are smoke-free zones all year round. These include Brüning in Berlin, Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

Anyone who breaches the ban can expect to receive a hefty fine. 

READ ALSO: More floods, droughts and heatwaves: How climate change will impact Germany

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PROPERTY

Why it’s hard to find an apartment with air conditioning in Germany

When temperatures start to get up to 30C or more in Germany, a familiar debate begins. It often starts with a simple question, asked by a new arrival to the country: “Why don’t German homes have air conditioning?”

Published: 25 June 2024 16:58 CEST
Why it's hard to find an apartment with air conditioning in Germany

The tendency to avoid air conditioning (A/C) is not uniquely a German trend. Europeans tend to use A/C less than residents in the US, and some countries in Asia.

But as temperatures have crept slowly upwards due to climate change, and the number of hot days has increased, Europe has seen an increase in demand for air conditioning. Across the continent A/C use has more than doubled since 1990.

But A/C is used much more commonly in countries that see higher temperatures like Spain, Italy or France, whereas it is still uncommon in homes in Germany.

So why does Germany tend to lack air conditioning, and why aren’t more Germans interested in installing it?

It’s not a ‘hot’ country

Ask a German why air conditioning is so rare in the country, and you’ll probably hear some version of “Well Germany is not such a hot country.” Which may be true generally, but is a less than convincing explanation if you hear it on a sunny summer day when it’s 35C outside.

But it is worth keeping in mind that while Germany does have warm summers, often with at least a couple heat waves, super hot days are few compared to warmer countries, like those in southern Europe. 

Given Germany’s weather can really only be described as hot for a few weeks out of each year, and considering the costs of installing and running air conditioning, most Germans figure it’s not worth it.

attic with sliding window

A sliding attic window is designed to help tenants cool off, but it won’t help to open windows during the hottest part of the day. Photo: pa/obs LiDEKO | LiDEKO

This isn’t only reserved for homes, but extends to plenty of public spaces including office and government buildings, and to some public transportation as well. 

In fact, schools and workplaces do occasionally call it quits during hot weather spells in an event called hitzefrei.

READ ALSO: Ditching AC for ‘Hitzefrei’ – Taking on the German summer as a Californian

Air conditioning is energy intensive and expensive

The other side of the argument against air conditioning is that both installation and operating costs can be expensive. Air conditioning tends to be energy inefficient, so using it can significantly increase your utility bill.

From an environmental point of view, all the energy used for air conditioning, if Germany was to start installing A/C at scale, would add to the country’s energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions – both of which Germany is already struggling to cut down year after year as part of its climate goals.

It is an ironic feature of traditional air conditioning that it creates a negative feedback loop: More people rely on air conditioning to stay cool as weather warms, but weather continues warming in part due to emissions from air conditioning.

That said there are cases where access to air conditioning can save lives. In particular elderly people and those with health-risks are prone to heat sensitivity. So while it’s probably good that not every house in Germany has A/C, it’s important that hospitals and some other buildings in a given city do.

READ ALSO: How German cities are adapting to rising temperatures

‘Cold air makes you sick’

Along with the reasonable (if debatable) reasons for the lack of A/C in Germany, there are also cultural factors.

On the social media website Reddit, a user posted the question, “Will more places in Germany start using air conditioning?”

One of the top comments read, “Don’t you know cold air makes you sick….says Oma (the German word for grandma). 

While that comment comes off a bit tongue in cheek, it touches on a real and deeply-ingrained belief that persists among parts of the German population: That exposure to cold, or even maybe a cool breeze, is bad for your health. This includes a draft in your house, called a Durchzug in German.

For this reason, the German Red Cross felt compelled to debunk the Durchzug health myth in a hot weather warning they issued in 2019.

a heat pump is installed

An employee inspects a heat pump in front of a newly built residential building. Heat pumps are also effective for cooling. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Weißbrod

What can you do about the heat?

Regardless of where you stand on the air conditioning debate, if you don’t have a personal A/C unit at home presently, the best way to endure the hottest days of summer may be to take a few tips from the locals.

During my first summer in Germany, I took to leaving the windows open throughout the day, thinking that the occasional warm breeze was the best relief I could hope for at home. But one day my landlord came by and asked me why I was suffering in the heat with the windows open.

He recommended that I instead leave the windows open at night or in the early morning to get some fresh cool air inside, and then keep all the windows closed through the heat of the day. I tried this strategy the next day, and immediately felt that he was right.

Compared to homes in the US, for instance, German homes tend to be very well insulated. This can be equally important in the summer as it means that the interior tends to stay cooler than the outside (as long as you keep it mostly sealed off).

On extremely hot days, you might even keep your shutters down to shade the windows and prevent the sun from shining through.

Of course the effectiveness of the strategy depends on having a home that’s well insulated, including double paned windows and well-sealed doors etc. If you feel that the inside of your house is getting as warm or warmer than the outside, then it’s probably time to open up the windows or go outside and sit in the shade.

Fans are also useful. Best is a ceiling fan designed to rotate counter-clockwise to push air downward, which can maximise wind chill within a home, but floor fans can also help.

Ironically, in the longer term it may actually be heat pumps that help Germany to modernise its cooling infrastructure. 

Heat pumps maximise the efficiency of heating systems by moving warm air around a building, and they can also work with cooling systems. Many heat pump systems on the market today are already built to support both heating and cooling functions, and they are much more energy efficient than classic air condition systems.

READ ALSO: Who can apply for Germany’s new heat pump grants for homes?

Unfortunately for tenants with no heat pump and no A/C, the best you can do for now is take notes of cool places in your city where you can relax in the shade or in the water during the hottest hours or the hottest days.

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