Heat alarm in Ottakring: Record number of tropical nights 2024!

Heat alarm in Ottakring: Record number of tropical nights 2024!

The summer of 2025 has a firm grip on Vienna and especially the Ottakring district. According to the current heat card of the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), rising temperatures and tropical nights are no longer uncommon, but a worrying reality that has been very pronounced in recent years. In the past three years, the number of tropical nights in Ottakring has increased dramatically - from 12 nights in 2020 to 47 nights in 2024. These nightly temperatures above 20 degrees are not only uncomfortable, but also represent a serious risk, especially for older people, like meinbzirk.at reported.

But what are the reasons for these developments? The summer of 2025 is shaped by extreme heat all over Austria. Heating days with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius seem to develop into a new normality, and this has a direct impact on the health of the population. Older people and those with existing cardiovascular diseases are particularly at risk, warns the data expert Hannah Schuster. In Ottakring, an estimated 16.1 percent of the population is over 65, which also tightens the situation today.at.

The challenge of the heat days

Ottakring recorded an average of 49 heat days in 2024. This is an increase of 23 heat days in 2020. This development is reinforced by increasing urbanization, climate change and the associated increase in greenhouse gas emissions. While rural regions often have less infrastructure for covering heat, the intensive temperatures in cities such as Vienna are particularly stressful. The interactive heat card, which is available on [today.at] (https://www.heute.at/s/hitze-hotspots-so-stark-ist-ist- dein-wohnbezroffen-120117161), impressively illustrates this.

The lack of nightly cooling is a major challenge, especially for the vulnerable groups. The advice, such as closing windows and pulling curtains, often are not enough to escape the unbearable feeling of heat. Experts therefore call for urgent measures, including the greening of urban spaces and public information campaigns to better support older people and endangered groups meinbzirk.at.

long -term risks and measures

The health risks due to heat should not be underestimated. Seasonal fluctuations show mortality in Austria, whereby the abruptibility often correlated with heat waves in summer. This is documented by the European EuroMomo mortality monitoring, which monitors the health development of the population. The influence of heat on mortality must be taken into account in future plans in order to be able to react in time [AGES.AT] (https://www.ages.at/umwelt/klimawandelan adaptation/hitzen).

The project on climate -safe urban development aims to minimize the health risks and increase the quality of life of the Viennese population. Long -term protection for older people requires much more than just ventilation at night. Urban planning must be designed in such a way that both the well -being and health of citizens are in focus.

If the forecasts apply for the coming years, almost every district in Austria could be considered “very endangered”, there should be no drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The summer of 2025 is only the beginning - there is really something!