"The care provided by doctors and nursing staff is excellent," says a Styrian who has been in a hospital bed for some time. But, he says, his last treatments were a horror: "It was 31 degrees in the room, and that at 8 pm, the lowest temperature was 26 degrees at 6 am. Something like that is inhumane." How do the provincial hospitals react to rising temperatures?

In Graz University Hospital alone, there are 600 rooms with 1554 beds. The majority are cooled, the rest are not. Whereby "only technical solutions are used in the areas close to patients, i.e. ventilation systems with a cooling component, comparable to air conditioning in a car". With other measures, condensation could form, leading to mold.

The 179 intensive care beds and operating theaters would be specially cooled. In addition, "relief cooling" is used in new buildings to keep the temperature constantly six degrees below that outside. For cooling alone, Graz needs as much electricity as 850 detached houses!

The general reaction to the increased heat is retrofitting. Until then, only shading and early ventilation will help.

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