#climate adaptations

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...do to ensure the country is better prepared for extreme temperatures in the future? This last weekend saw recording-breaking temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). These are life-threatening situations for retirement and nursing homes and hospitals with little or no air conditioning. One reason for this is that Germany doesn't have any national heat protection regulations that would require cooling systems in such facilities. Infrastructure was also affected, with trains and trams unable to function and the asphalt on many roads cracking. Experts have been issuing warnings for a long time. Speaking on Deutschlandfunk Radio (DLF), Andreas Becker, a climate expert at the German Weather Service, said that temperatures in Germany are rising steadily and will continue to do so in the coming years. Europe hit hardest by global warming According to the Federal Environment Agency, around 50 hectares of land were turned into residential, transportation and commercial areas in Germany every single day between 2021 and 2024. In other words: Every day in Germany, 70 soccer fields' worth of natural areas disappeared. Sealing soil prevents rainwater from seeping into the ground, leading to severe flooding during heavy rainfall. In addition, sealed surfaces can no longer allow water to evaporate, causing cities to heat up excessively and creating dangerously hot urban areas. So, what can policymakers do to ensure the country is better prepared for extreme temperatures in the future? Plans for cities already exist, but implementing them takes time and is expensive. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider from Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) said Monday on public broadcaster ARD that he does not believe it is up to the federal government in Berlin to lead the way in adapting to climate change. "The responsibility lies with the federal states and municipalities," he said. "For example, I cannot even provide financial support because Germany's Basic Law prohibits me from doing so." The environment minister did promise to discuss with his conservative coalition partners the possibility of amending the Basic Law so that the federal government could take a more active role in implementing such changes. But he added that states and municipalities do have around €100 billion ($114 billion) available for climate projects thanks to the €500 billion infrastructure program approved after last year's federal election.

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2023 has been the hottest year ever recorded. Data released by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) earlier this month revealed that every month from June to November broke global heat records. By using physical evidence like polar ice and tree rings to reconstruct temperature records, scientists have also shown that 2023 is likely to be the warmest in 125,000 years. If greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels continue to build up in the atmosphere, C3S scientists warn that the temperature will keep rising - along with the risk of deadly heatwaves and droughts. Many cities susceptible to extreme heatwaves have developed emergency response plans to protect the public. But experts warn those steps might not be enough in a world that is consistently breaking heat records and deepening inequalities. “I don’t know a single city that is truly prepared for the worst-case scenario that some climate scientists fear,” says Eric Klinenberg, a professor of social sciences at New York University who wrote a book about a deadly US heatwave. Heat preparedness has generally improved over the years as forecasting has become more accurate. Meteorologists, journalists and government officials have also started focusing on spreading the word of upcoming danger. But what works in one city might not be as effective in another.

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The Netherlands' two largest cities, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, are working on various projects to respond to the increasingly extreme weather brought on by climate change. Rotterdam, for example, is experimenting with floating homes that fall and rise with the water level of the North Sea. And Amsterdam is experimenting with living roofs on social housing, NOS and ANP report.

Amsterdam will invest between 15 million and 20 million euros annually in projects to adapt to climate change. This money will go towards better rainwater collection, heat and cold storage, and making homes and public spaces more sustainable. "There is no time to lose, because we are increasingly seeing serious problems and damage from extreme heat, drought or downpours," responsible alderman Laurens Ivens said to ANP. "By making research into new, smart solutions a standard part of the maintenance of the city, we can make public space more future-proof and climate-proof."

One of the projects Amsterdam is working on is blue-green roofs on social rental homes in various neighborhoods. This means plants on the roof, with a layer of water underneath. This experiment is to see whether these living roofs can keep homes cooler in the summer, and retain or discharge rainwater better.