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Heat wave threatens: Baden-Württemberg's cities are suffering from heat check!
Böblingen fails the 2025 heat check. High temperatures and surface sealing endanger the well-being of residents.
Heat wave threatens: Baden-Württemberg's cities are suffering from heat check!
On June 12, 2025, German Environmental Aid (DUH) carried out the second nationwide heat check, which covered the cities in Baden-Württemberg. The report shows alarming results regarding heat development in German cities. Mannheim, Ludwigsburg, Heilbronn and Rastatt are particularly badly affected, all of which received the “red card”. Mannheim performs worst in the country, as around 88% of the 315,000 inhabitants live in areas exposed to high heat. The surface temperature there reaches over 38 degrees in the summer months. In addition, 56% of the area in Mannheim is sealed, while only 2% is covered with trees, hedges or beds. This means that cool air cannot circulate well, which exacerbates the urban heat problem.
A total of eleven cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in Baden-Württemberg received the red card, including Rastatt, Waiblingen, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Böblingen, Freiburg, Konstanz and Heidelberg. Cities such as Stuttgart, Esslingen, Reutlingen, Sindelfingen, Pforzheim and Ulm are in the lower midfield of the rating. What is shocking is that no city in the region receives a “green card” for the good availability of green spaces and low levels of imperviousness. The result of the heat check is based on satellite data on surface sealing and green spaces in a total of 190 cities in Germany.
The role of climate analysis
The Baden-Württemberg State Institute for the Environment (LUBW) has carried out a comprehensive nationwide climate analysis in order to bundle planning-relevant information on heat. The resulting planning advice map for Baden-Württemberg shows both heat-stressed areas and cold air flows. Areas colored particularly purple on this map mark areas in which the weekly average temperature of 21 °C is exceeded in at least six weeks per year. This contributes to an increased risk for very old people (85+) of suffering health consequences from the heat.
The cold air flows, in turn, are crucial for the thermal relief of settlement areas. With climate change, the number of regions exposed to severe heat is expected to increase. The planning advice map and the climate analysis maps are important instruments for future spatial planning in Baden-Württemberg, as they are intended to promote effective measures for climate adaptation.
Risk reduction recommendations
The LUBW provides recommendations for reducing risks in particularly heat-stressed areas. These include drinking enough water, staying in cool places, avoiding physical exertion and avoiding direct sun exposure. These measures are intended to help minimize the health effects of the heat on the population.
The alarming results of the heat check and the findings from the climate analysis illustrate the urgent need to develop effective strategies to combat urban heat in Baden-Württemberg. [bo.de] reports on the consequences of unchecked surface sealing, while [klimaatlas-bw.de] provides valuable information for planning and adapting to climatic challenges.