Erfurt in the heat check: yellow card for the highest load in Thuringia!

Erfurt in the heat check: yellow card for the highest load in Thuringia!

Erfurt, Deutschland - heat is currently a topic that not only ensures great worry lines in southern Germany. Today, on July 2, 2025, the Heat Check of the German Environmental Aid (DUH) shows alarming numbers for many cities, and especially in the focus: Erfurt.
Erfurt has collected a yellow card in the heat check and is thus in midfield among 190 German cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The city with a heat-suffering index of 15.89 attracts the greatest attention in Thuringia. According to thueringen24.de, the average surface temperature in Erfurt is between 2021 and 2024 with oppressive 35 degrees Celsius.

It is not just the temperatures that let you show. The condition of the cities in Germany is also crucial. With almost 45%, Erfurt has the highest seal in Thuringia, which means that the soil can hardly absorb water and heat up like a hot plaster. In direct comparison, Gera and Weimar have a seal of 40% and 37%, while Jena is also 37%. The high seal is no coincidence, even if, according to the analysis of the DUH, in cooperation with the Potsdam Luftinte Environment Planung GmbH, it is not solely responsible for the heat stress.

The challenge of the heat

For over 12 million people in German cities, it gets serious, because the DUH found that 31 cities were classified in the "red" category in terms of high -grade heat loads. Cities like Mannheim are particularly badly affected - 88% of the residents are threatened with extreme heat. In contrast, there are places such as Hattingen, Gummersbach and Witten, which can give positive examples with their many green areas and low seals. The question remains: How can the pressure on our cities be reduced?

Barbara Metz, federal manager of the DUH, emphasizes the need for more green areas, as they can contribute to evaporation and reduce temperatures. A single tree can reduce the temperature within a radius of up to 40 meters by up to 10 degrees Celsius. Demands for binding minimum green parts in public space and on private land grow. One step in the right direction is the climate pact that the Thuringian state government has closed in cooperation with municipalities. For this, 27 million euros were invested in climate protection.

local measures and support

In Erfurt, a “heat telephone” was launched in June in order to support those seeking help. There are also plans for an increase in the number of drinking fountain in the urban area. Also in Jena is traded: Here you are planning a support network for older people living alone who are particularly vulnerable during extreme heat waves.

But the efforts don't stop at the city limits. Gera is also working on a municipal heat action plan, and a nationwide heat action plan should be available by the end of the year. In view of the heat -related deaths in Germany in Germany, such measures are essential for survival.

For everyone involved, it is to be hoped that the experiences and teachings from these hot days lead to a more sustainable urban design. There is still a lot to do to meet the high temperatures in urban space. Because one thing is clear: a good knack in dealing with heat can be the key to improve the quality of life in our cities.