Berlin is preparing for heat wave: Where are the shelters?

Berlin is preparing for heat wave: Where are the shelters?

The meteorological summer started in Berlin on June 1, 2025, and the predictions for the coming months are alarming. Health senator Ina Czyborra (SPD) warns of temperatures that could exceed the 40-degree mark. The German Weather Service (DWD) reports on a record -breaking warm spring, which increases the concerns about the health of the population. According to a report by the DWD, the temperature in Marzahn reached unprecedented 27.4 degrees in April 2025, while the precipitation deficit lingered at an extremely low level, which also reinforces the heat load.

In response to this situation, the Berlin Senate has decided to prevent heat. 100,000 euros for heat protection measures are provided per district, which are intended to support targeted groups such as seniors and homeless people. The planned investments include shade-giving umbrellas, water dispensers, fans and heat hotlines. In addition, seven cool shelter in Berlin will be opened from today until August 31. The first of these shelters opened in Schöneberg in 2022 and is operated by the International Bund Berlin-Brandenburg (IB).

shelter and heat -related deaths

The need for these measures is underpinned by the tragic statistics: 52 people died of heat -related consequences in Berlin in 2024, in Brandenburg the number was twice as high. A total of almost 6,000 heat deaths were recorded in Germany in 2023 and 2024, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The number of users of the shelter was threatening last year: 3,112 people were looking for refuge, which corresponds to an average of 60 people per day. Peter Bobbert, President of the Berlin Medical Association, demands more contact points for homeless people to further reduce the risk of heat -related deaths.

A comprehensive heat action plan for Berlin should actually be determined in May 2024. This plan, which is intended to define heat protection requirements for all of Berlin, is still under development and still has to be brought into the House of Representatives. The budget negotiations for the future financing of these heating aid are still pending, whereby Bobbert points out that the implementation of heat protection measures also requires financial resources.

The need for heat action plans

The increase in heat waves in Germany has been documented since the 1970s, and the European Environment Agency predicts a further increase in frequency, duration and intensity. Despite the ongoing climate change, the health risk due to heat remains an urgent topic. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the development of heat action plans after the heat summer in 2003. Current studies and surveys show that around 58% of the municipal administrations surveyed are informed about recommendations for action on heat action plans, but only four municipalities were actually able to implement such plans.

According to the Federal Environmental Authority, heat action plans in particular can help older people and women to reduce the risk of death. The need for a legal anchoring of health protection before and during heat waves as a municipal mandatory task is increasingly required. In addition, a more intensive exchange between the federal, state and municipalities is considered crucial for improving the heat action plans.