Unusually High Temperatures in Magdeburg and Halle Explained: Suggestions for Relief
**Article Title: Heat Protection Strategies in Magdeburg and Halle, Germany: A Closer Look**
There is currently no publicly available information about specific heat protection plans or strategies in Magdeburg and Halle, Germany. However, insights into broader German and European urban heat mitigation practices offer some context.
Germany is currently experiencing a significant heatwave, with citizens seeking refuge in cooler natural environments like the Baltic Sea. This national awareness of heat risks, while not detailing municipal-level actions in Magdeburg or Halle, suggests a broader concern.
German research institutions are actively studying urban heat island effects, including the use of citizen science for heat detection and pilot studies on residential heating behaviors. These efforts may inform municipal planning, but the search results do not specify links to Magdeburg or Halle.
A recent German research consortium published the “Planning and Design Guideline for Blue-Green Infrastructure,” which promotes interconnected vegetation and water systems to reduce urban heat, enhance resilience, and improve community well-being. While this initiative is nationally relevant, there is no confirmation of its implementation in Magdeburg or Halle specifically.
Effective urban heat mitigation often involves collaboration between government, businesses, and academia, as seen in the Build4People project. However, direct evidence of its adoption in Magdeburg or Halle is absent.
Magdeburg and Halle in Saxony-Anhalt are particularly affected by heat. The cities may be following broader German and EU guidance on urban heat mitigation, which typically includes the expansion of green spaces and urban parks, promotion of green roofs and facades, water features, and sustainable urban drainage systems, and adaptations in urban planning to increase shade and reduce heat-absorbing surfaces.
A research project in Halle, titled "Urban Heat Labs - Heat Prevention in City Quarters and Buildings," is funded by the federal government and focuses on improving heat prevention processes in municipalities. The project, which runs for three years, aims to provide a model guide for other municipalities to implement comparable projects more easily upon completion. The project's results are well transferable to other locations due to the types of buildings in the selected quarter.
The project explores the question: What does each individual building contribute to the overall system - and vice versa? and involves not only the authorities, but also private building owners and the residents of the city. The digital twin, a tool for urban development, is being expanded in the Urban Heat Labs project to focus on heat topics in Halle and used for various analyzes, such as on the topic of shade.
Magdeburg ranks 17th out of 190 cities examined nationwide in the "Heat Check" by the German Environmental Aid (DUH), making it the only city among the 30 most heat-affected that is not in southern Germany. The city has a lower volume of green space per square meter than most of the 190 cities examined by the DUH.
The cooling effect of plants is important in urban planning for heat protection, as they release moisture into the air on hot days, which cools the air through evaporation. The heat stress map, intended to help cities and municipalities plan climate adaptation measures, evaluates cities based on average midday surface temperature, proportion of sealed surfaces, and volume of green space per square meter of area in the city.
The World Meteorological Organization expects new heat records to be surpassed in the next five years, emphasizing the urgency of effective heat protection strategies. For precise, up-to-date information, municipal climate adaptation plans for Magdeburg and Halle should be consulted directly.
The ongoing research in Germany, focusing on urban heat island effects, environmental science, and citizen science, may potentially inform heat protection strategies in Magdeburg and Halle. The "Planning and Design Guideline for Blue-Green Infrastructure" suggests a possible solution for reducing urban heat, although its implementation in these cities is unconfirmed. The federal government-funded project "Urban Heat Labs - Heat Prevention in City Quarters and Buildings" in Halle aims to provide a model for heat prevention, making it transferable to other locations like Magdeburg. The urgency of effective heat protection strategies is highlighted by the World Meteorological Organization's prediction of new heat records within the next five years. Thus, it is crucial to consult the municipal climate adaptation plans for Magdeburg and Halle for precise, up-to-date information on their heat protection strategies.
