Are Germany’s cities adequately protecting their residents from the heat-related consequences of climate change?

No – at least that’s what the first ‘heat check’ by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) suggests. According to the evaluation, only 84 out of 190 cities analysed passed the check and received a ‘green card’. In contrast, 82 municipalities were given a ‘yellow card’ and 24 cities even received a ‘red card’.

For the ‘heat check’, a Potsdam planning office was commissioned by DUH to analyse German cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. It looked at the ratio of sealed surfaces to green spaces – in other words: how much is a city covered in concrete? And how many trees and green spaces does it have?

The more sealed surfaces there are, the more likely it is that heat will build up, whereas green spaces provide cooling.

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According to the DUH’s analysis, the following cities are Germany’s top heat protection ‘role models’:

• Detmold (North Rhine-Westphalia or NRW)
• Ratingen (NRW)
• Potsdam (Brandenburg)
• Jena (Thuringia)

Other cities to get the ‘green light’ are Tübingen, Berlin, Bonn, Hamburg, Dortmund and Leipzig. According to the study, these places have a high volume of greenery and a lower degree of sealing.

The ratio is reversed for the following cities, which score poorly in the ranking:

• Ludwigshafen (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• Heilbronn (Baden-Württemberg)
• Regensburg (Bavaria)
• Worms (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• Ludwigsburg (Baden-Württemberg)
• Ingolstadt (Bavaria)

Frankfurt am Main also received a ‘red light’ as did Nuremberg and Augsburg.

Then there are special cases such as Sindelfingen (Baden-Württemberg) and Kaiserslautern (Rhineland-Palatinate), which are heavily sealed but at the same time have many green spaces – they receive the ‘yellow card’. Meanwhile, Pulheim (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Wilhelmshaven (Lower Saxony) have hardly any green spaces, but are only slightly sealed – which lands them in this category. 

‘Heat hellscapes’

Experts say that more heat protection planning is needed in cities. 

“The continuing trend towards more concrete and less greenery is alarming,” said Barbara Metz, Federal Managing Director of Umwelthilfe. “Instead of becoming liveable places for recreation, our cities are turning into heat hellscapes.”

Currently, more than 50 hectares of land are sealed every day in Germany, which ultimately poses a ‘health risk’, Metz said.

Local authorities and social organisations are calling for more financial support from the government for heat protection.

The Vice President of the Association of German Cities, Katja Dörner, told the Rheinische Post newspaper that although many municipalities already have heat action plans, they remain meaningless “if we cannot implement the planned measures because the municipalities lack the money”.

The Federal Climate Adaptation Act, which has been in force since July 1st, can be used to implement heat protection measures, said Dörner. 

Many local authorities and districts are already addressing the issue, said Verena Bentele, President of the VDK social welfare organisation. But she said there is a clear lack of financial support. For instance, old people’s homes, kindergartens, schools and hospitals in particular need to be equipped with air conditioning systems.

Sabine Bösing, Managing Director of the Federal Working Group for Assistance to the Homeless, called for a heat protection fund so that emergency housing assistance services and facilities could purchase things like sun cream and drinking water. 

What is the government doing?

Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz has said the issue is a top priority – and she wants to better protect residents and nature in cities from the heat.

Climate change is clearly noticeable here in the summer months, said the SPD politician this week. “People living in the city suffer from tropical nights and sweltering daytime temperatures in record-breaking summer,” she added. Geywitz said this is a major health risk, especially for older people and small children.

The Federal Ministry of Construction has drawn up a strategy that is intended to provide urban planners and civil engineers with a number of options. It recommends, for example, more parks, street trees and green roofs that provide cooling. To prevent plants from drying out during long periods of drought, areas should be created where rain can seep away.

Awnings could help to make playgrounds usable in summer, while homeless people need more access to drinking water fountains and cool retreats, she said.