Up to 500 deaths/year

Smoke: Austrians underestimate the heat

From the left: Johannes Pleiner-Duxneuner (AGES), Health Minister Johannes Rauch, Andrea Schmidt (GÖG)(Bild: APA/Tobias Steinmaurer)

Up to 500 heat-related deaths occur in Austria every year. Nevertheless, extreme temperatures are underestimated according to Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens). On Wednesday, he presented the National Heat Protection Plan, which was revised after seven years.

Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (GÖG) was responsible for adapting the national plans to international standards. Informing the population is particularly important, as Austrians continue to underestimate heat, said Health Minister Rauch. The country is currently experiencing the first hot days of June, with temperatures set to peak at just under 35 degrees on Friday. "Excessive heat impairs the ability to regulate body temperature and has a direct impact on cardiovascular diseases," warned AGES Managing Director Johannes Pleiner-Duxneuner.

Infants, young children, elderly and chronically ill people, as well as the homeless and those living in poverty, suffer most from high temperatures. However, the direct and indirect consequences of heat are felt by everyone.

Tips on correct behavior
Detailed recommendations on how to behave during heatwaves are to be issued, for example through advertisements and an information folder, which can be ordered free of charge via the brochure service. The recommendations are aimed at private individuals as well as health and social organizations. Examples include information on proper ventilation and finding cool places. The latter are also part of the plan, as public places are to be increasingly greened. In addition, Caritas has already opened 27 parish gardens to the public in Vienna and Lower Austria.

What used to be a record is now average.

Andrea Schmidt, Gesundheit Österreich 

The heat protection plan is based on the Geosphere Austria warning scale. According to this, human exposure is currently slightly higher, and on Friday it is significantly higher. In recent decades, the number of days over 30 degrees has doubled to tripled, said Andrea Schmidt from GÖG. "What used to be a record is now average." "That's clear, it's not just going to go away. The hot spells are here to stay," added Rauch.