UBA President Dirk Messner says, ‘Today, climate change in Germany already poses challenges to many areas of life —including health. It is essential to significantly improve our response to heat and ensure that vulnerable groups are adequately protected.’
According to the latest analysis by RKI , commissioned by UBA and BMUKN, even individual hot days create heat stress, which can lead to increased mortality if temperatures do not cool again overnight. This risk applies to days with a mean temperature above 20 °C, based on combined daytime and nighttime values. If it remains hot for several days in a row without night-time cooling, mortality continues to rise and reaches a consistently high level after about three to four days.
Cities more affected
In cities, heat stress is greater than in rural areas. Urban areas form ‘heat islands’ that are significantly warmer than their surrounding areas. As a result, heat-related mortality is also higher in cities than in rural regions. This phenomenon is most evident in western and southern Germany. In the north, the differences are less pronounced due to the region’s proximity to the sea. Nonetheless, during summer, even rural areas often experience a considerable heat burden, resulting in heat-related deaths.
‘Due to climate change, the problem of excess mortality in summer will become even more severe in the future,’ says UBA President Messner. ‘It is, therefore, all the more important that environmental and health protection authorities collaborate and support people through appropriate measures.’
More precise data collection required
The research project analysed various aspects of heat-related excess mortality in Germany. Among other things, the project was able to confirm that, especially in summers with short heat periods, daily analyses record heat-related deaths more comprehensively than analyses based on multi-day or weekly intervals.
The research project funded by BMUKN is part of the German climate change adaptation strategy . The results of the project have now been published as a final report in the UBA publication series ‘Environment and Health’.
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