Heat warning: This is how Lower Austria protects itself from the great heat!

Heat warning: This is how Lower Austria protects itself from the great heat!

From Wednesday, July 2, 2025, the residents have to adjust to extreme temperatures in large parts of Lower Austria. The Weather Service Geosphere Austria has issued an official heat warning that particularly affects the districts of Baden, Bruck an der Leitha, Gänserndorf, Mistelbach, Mödling, Neunkirchen, the city and the state of Wiener Neustadt. As meinzirk.at, the Lower Austrian heat protection plan is also in force, which is already actively implemented in hospitals, nurses and kindergartens.

The health councilor Eva Prischl indicates the special dangers for vulnerable groups. People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, older people as well as infants and toddlers are particularly at risk. The climatic change has led to the number of heat days, i.e. days with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, even tripled in some regions. It is all the more important that the state government reacts to the upcoming heat wave with extensive prevention plans.

tips for hot days

In order to defy the high temperatures, it is important to follow some simple but effective tips. Drink enough water - 2 to 3 liters per day are ideal, even more in extreme heat. Check out cool places and ventilate your living rooms early in the morning. Light clothing, sun hats or caps and sunglasses also protect against UV radiation. Proper nutrition also plays a role: light dishes from fruit, vegetables and yogurt help to keep the body cool. Cooling actively by taking cold arm and foot baths or using moist cloths. Particularly caution should be considered in small children, older people and chronically ill people. Children and animals have lost nothing in parked cars, because the temperatures often go through the ceiling.

The current heat warning is part of a major problem: the health effects of heat are increasing. According to the [Federal Environment Agency] (https://www.umweltbundamt.de/daten/umwelt-gesundheit/gesundheit-risiken- through heat), a look at Germany shows that from 2000 to 2024 there was a rapidly increasing number of hot days and tropical nights. Heat waves can cause serious health problems. It is therefore essential to take heat protection measures and inform the population about it.

research and knowledge

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reminds that the health consequences of extreme heat particularly affect vulnerable groups such as older people, pregnant and chronically ill. Future model calculations assume that the mortality rate will increase due to increased temperatures - this could be an increase of 1 to 6 percent per degree Celsius. Daher wird effektiver Hitzeschutz, der die Zusammenarbeit verschiedener Ministerien und Institutionen erfordert, immer wichtiger. It is crucial that all actors pull together and work out preventive measures to protect the population.

The heat wave is imminent and with it the responsibility to protect itself and fellow human beings. Set the tips mentioned above and make sure that particularly vulnerable groups do not have to suffer from the high temperatures. Together it is possible to master this challenge.