Germany is currently in the grips of a severe heatwave, with extreme heat warnings in place and temperatures as high as 40C expected in some regions on Wednesday.
Periods of extreme heat in Germany can be dangerous, and they are becoming both more common and more severe as the planet warms.
When the weather gets hot, local temperatures in urban areas are amplified – especially in places with a lot of concrete and few trees – by what’s called the “heat island” effect.
More than 12 million people in German cities are exposed to extreme heat where they live, according to a study by the German Environmental Aid (DUH).
DUH’s "Heat-check" report shows which German cities are more or less prepared for high temperatures, based on average summer surface temperatures, and the proportion of sealed cement areas versus tree cover.
Here are the worst German cities to be caught in a heatwave, according to the report published this June.
Germany’s hottest cities
With an average midday surface temperature of 38.4C from June to August, Mannheim may be the worst German city to experience a heatwave.
Mannheim is the second most populous city in Baden-Württemberg and is home to a number of universities and a relatively high foreign population, but with about 56 percent of its area covered in concrete and just two percent shaded by trees, it can be sweltering on a summer day.
Following Mannheim, and with similar heat stats are the cities of Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Worms in Rhineland-Palatinate.
In fourth place is the Hessian city of Rüsselsheim am Main.
Germany’s business capital, Frankfurt am Main, is also among the country’s most heat-affected, ranking 5th in DUH’s heat check this year.
Southern cities particularly affected
According to the study, heat stress is particularly high in southern German cities, where in-land temperatures trend higher in the summer months.
The states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in particular have most of the cities that are rated as being severely affected by heat according to DUH’s analysis.
Bavaria’s most affected cities are Aschaffenburg and Nuremberg, ranked 14th and 15th respectively.
Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt and Hildesheim in Lower Saxony were the only cities from the northern half of Germany that were grouped among the most at-risk category.
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The best prepared cities for extreme heat
Generally cities in the north, and especially those near to the coast, benefit from lower average temperatures in the summer. These include cities like Flensburg, Wilhelmshaven and Kiel.
However, the best prepared cities for extreme heat are not those on the coast but instead the North Rhine Westphalian cities of Hattingen, Gummersbach and Witten.
These cities have less sealed concrete space (at 40 percent or less of the settlement area) and high proportions of green spaces (at around five percent each).
A few other cities that scored well for heat adaptation were Hamburg, Hagen, Wuppertal, Marburg and Solingen, just to name a few.
Stuttgart, Leipzig, Hanover, Cologne, Erfurt, Düsseldorf and Berlin all had scores close to the median for German cities.
Why the heat-check matters
The effects of global warming are already noticeable in Germany – according to the German Weather Service (DWD), local average temperatures have already increased by 2.5C compared to pre-industrial times.
According to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute, there were around 3,000 heat-related deaths in Germany in 2023 and 2024, and in 2022 there were even more.
Older people in particular suffer from high temperatures, and DUH’s heat-check found that socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods tend to be more affected.
The Ministry of Health warns that especially days with temperatures above 30C can be harmful. It is important to stay hydrated on these days, also to avoid physical exertion and ventilation during the hot parts of the day, and to cool down with showers or foot baths.
READ ALSO: 8 of the coolest places in Germany to visit on hot summer days
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