RESPONSE, Berlin
It was a welcome breath of fresh air when police water cannons sprayed tourists and passers-by in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Democracy Square, Potsdamer Platz and the Red Town Hall yesterday afternoon. In Berlin, some private weather stations measured over 40 in some parts of the capital and Brandenburg. Whoever decided to take to the streets, . And whoever had the bright idea to travel by bus, had a forced sauna, because there was no air conditioning, the windows were closed and people were on top of each other.
The German Weather Service confirmed three times. On Friday, with 41.3 degrees in Saarbrücken, the country broke every heat record since measurements began. Within a few hours the record was broken again yesterday Saturday with 41.5 degrees in the region of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. And for today at 15.00, 41.7 degrees were recorded with the prospect of reaching 42 degrees.
The state apparatus is unprepared
Thus Germany looks more and more meteorologically like a country of the Global South. The atmosphere is so suffocating and the citizens so left to their own devices, that if one closes one’s eyes, one could imagine for a moment that one is, for example, in Havana. Those responsible in sectors of the state apparatus are self-acting. Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies are advising against long-distance travel unless absolutely necessary, as infrastructure is severely affected by the heat. People run to the swimming pools to cool off, because there are no air-conditioned areas. By noon on Saturday, Berlin’s 14 outdoor pools had reached their maximum capacity. Today, as early as 9 am, the facilities were full and the sale of tickets was stopped. Operators of the capital’s public swimming pools are expecting up to 100,000 visitors by Sunday night. The shores of the lakes are reminiscent of Greek beaches, with colorful umbrellas next to each other and bathers clinging to each other. Two people died in separate swimming accidents on Saturday afternoon alone.
Europe is grappling with an intense heatwave as temp climb to b/w 40°C & 45°C across several countries. In parts of Italy &Germany, extreme heat has reportedly caused traffic lights to melt.
Authorities have issued warnings as the scorching conditions continues— Naheed Tariq (@NahdT5)
The high temperatures yesterday caused more damage to the road surface. On the A10 ring road in southern Berlin, parts of the asphalt came off. The state-owned autobahn operator Autobahn GmbH generally recommends slower driving in these temperatures because heat damage can occur, especially on older autobahns. The Hellenic Community of Berlin opened its welcoming spaces on Sunday, for those in need of a cool and safe environment.
Emergency situation in hospitals
The medical sector has the biggest problems. The German Association of Family Physicians complains that the government is not supporting their industry with measures to protect them from the heat. “Politics must finally take their responsibilities and act to protect against the heat, instead of just making one statement after another every time it’s hot,” the union’s federal president Nicola Bullinger-Gepfart told the ntv network. In Cologne, the emergency staff were not sufficient to deal with emergencies and colleagues had to be recalled from days off.
“We have never experienced a situation like this before,” says Hanna Makait, head of the emergency department at Bild newspaper. “Today alone we had to resuscitate five patients. On a normal day it’s two at the most.” Already on Friday, the Cologne fire department transported seven residents of a top-floor apartment, aged between 40 and 60, to hospitals. Their lives were in danger due to heatstroke. The German Red Cross is urgently looking for blood donors because, due to the high temperatures, the voluntary donation of blood is decreasing.
🇩🇪 Europe’s heat wave intensifies: Germany hits record 41.5°C.
Water cannons cool crowds at Brandenburg Gate as temperatures soar.
Writer: Samuel
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal)
Grab the… ice cubes
And while most are looking for shade and coolness to get some relief from the 40-degree German furnace, there are businessmen who hoard, like one from Berlin, who is going through the most stressful time of the year these days. The higher the mercury climbs, the greater the demand for the product it trades in, ice cubes. “Demand has soared,” says ice producer Jan Pisse: “At the moment we are operating in a state of emergency.” The company produces 24 hours a day in one of the coldest workplaces in Germany. In the warehouse, the temperature is minus 12 degrees, a difference of about 50 degrees compared to outside. Every day, about 10 tons of ice cubes are produced, but it is not enough during hot weather.
Restaurants, so-called Eiscafés, which mainly serve ice cream and cold drinks, but also bakeries, face a shortage of ice cubes. “Ice creams are in huge demand, cold drinks are doing very well,” says Berlin baker Mattis Hameberg. On hot days, his bakery needs ice even to make the dough. “In the bakery, the temperature reaches almost 40 degrees, so we need ice to cool the water,” he explains.
The heatwaves are here to stay in Germany
Others make golden deals from the heat and other professional groups struggle daily with its consequences. For example, the employees of the waste collection service in Kiel. There, on particularly hot days, the shift now begins before the sun even rises. In addition, workers are given water, fruit, sunscreen, sunscreen clothing and additional breaks to cool off, just like at the World Cup. This is well received by staff. “We start an hour earlier and finish an hour earlier,” street sweeper Fabian Hein told ZDF television. To avoid working under the midday sun, they stop at 10.00 temporarily, until it cools down. Nevertheless, the work is tiring, especially in hot conditions.
Germany may be heading for a new heat record at 42 degrees Celsius.
Critics have pointed out that local authorities are not adequately prepared to keep people safe as temperatures rise.
— DW Politics (@dw_politics)
The only consolation is that the heat wave is entering its final stretch and from tomorrow the temperature will gradually drop to 30 degrees. It is certainly not an excuse for the government, which will have to draw its own conclusions on how it managed a phenomenon that will appear more and more often in a country where most houses do not have air conditioning. So, a change in mindset and adaptation to climate change is needed as a continuous and permanent state responsibility at the highest level. Interventions are needed in many areas: Roads and railways more resistant to heat. better informing the public about protection measures, treating heat as a natural hazard similar to floods or storms, early warning systems for extreme heat. As in many countries of the Global South.
