German Greens Demand Mass Air Conditioner Installation Due to Extreme Heat

The German party Alliance 90/The Greens is demanding a nationwide program to install air conditioners in response to extreme heat that has reached record levels in recent days. The co-chair of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Katharina Dröge, announced this in an interview with Bild.

According to her, Germany needs an emergency cooling program to provide air conditioning in hospitals, nursing homes, kindergartens and schools. Dröge proposes that funding for air conditioner installation be granted only if solar panels are simultaneously installed on the roof. She called this combination "the smartest", as solar energy reduces operating costs for cooling.

The Greens propose financing this emergency cooling program from a special infrastructure fund of €500 billion. "This heat record should be a wake-up call for Friedrich Merz. After all, heat in hospitals, schools and kindergartens also harms the economy. And that, as we know, is especially close to the chancellor's heart," said Dröge.

On June 28, the German Meteorological Service (DWD) recorded a temperature record for the third consecutive day – 41.7°C. Due to extreme temperatures, the surface of the A2 highway, which connects the west and east of the country through its northern part, was severely damaged. In Leipzig, tram traffic was stopped because many sections of tracks became unusable due to the heat. In Berlin, police used water cannons to help people cool down.