More Emergency Calls: Heat Overwhelms Brandenburg – People Seek Cooling

Brandenburg is grappling with intense heat as temperatures soar, nearing the state's all-time record and prompting a significant increase in emergency calls. On Saturday afternoon, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius in Potsdam, the state capital. This heatwave could surpass Brandenburg's previous record of 38.9 degrees Celsius, recorded in Cottbus on June 19, 2022. By mid-afternoon, Cottbus registered 39.1 degrees, and Potsdam's station recorded 39.3 degrees, already exceeding the previous record. The extreme temperatures have led to a surge in operations for fire departments and rescue services across Brandenburg. A spokesperson for the Northwest control center noted a continuous stream of alerts, often related to circulatory issues, but also including triggered fire alarms, accidents, and fires. Similar increases in calls were reported in northeastern Brandenburg, where emergency services attended to individuals with circulatory problems at a sports event and responded to small forest fires. In the Prignitz region, over 30 hectares of forest and fields were already ablaze on Friday. While some control centers reported an increase in calls for circulatory problems, such as dizziness, others, like the Brandenburg control center, stated they had not observed any unusual activity by mid-afternoon. Emergency crews provided water and food to people stranded in a traffic jam on the A12 motorway in eastern Brandenburg. As temperatures climbed, public bathing spots were packed. Tens of thousands of people flocked to Heiligensee in Potsdam, and Gorinsee near Berlin was also overflowing. The "Blu" indoor swimming pool in Potsdam experienced long queues, with an estimated 100 people, mostly families with children, waiting to enter in the afternoon. Meanwhile, road maintenance teams are working overtime, conducting increased patrols to identify and repair heat-induced damage to roads, particularly concrete surfaces, to ensure traffic safety.

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The alerts are coming one after another.