Creating a Heat Action Plan for Municipalities

In short. A heat action plan sets out who does what during heat events, from the warning to the concrete measure on the ground. The recommendations of the Federal/Länder working group (2017) with their core building blocks serve as guidance. The plan is not a one-off document but a defined procedure that applies every summer. What matters is not the length of the paper but whether the warning chain actually works in an emergency.

Why this matters for your municipality. DWD heat warnings only help if someone in the administration responds to them. Without defined procedures, the warning fizzles out. A heat action plan closes this gap: it turns weather information into action, such as the call to the care home, the drinking water made available, or the postponed daycare activity.

What belongs in a heat action plan?

The Federal/Länder recommendations name several core building blocks. In practical terms, this means: central coordination, an early warning system, information for the public and specialist staff, particular attention to vulnerable groups, adapting infrastructure, long-term urban planning, and monitoring and evaluation. You do not need to implement everything at once, but coordination and the warning chain should be in place from the start.

Step by step: how do you proceed?

Step 1: Clarify responsibility. Name a coordinating body and the departments involved (health, social welfare, green spaces, public order). Step 2: Define the warning chain. Determine who receives the DWD heat warning and which notification is triggered to whom, with clear thresholds. Step 3: Identify target groups and locations. Record vulnerable facilities and heavily burdened neighbourhoods; where these coincide is where the priority lies. Step 4: Assign measures. Assign concrete measures to each warning level: drinking water, adjusted operating hours, welfare calls, cool refuge locations. Step 5: Prepare communication. Texts, channels and contact persons should be established before summer. Step 6: Evaluate after summer. What worked, what didn't? Record lessons learned and adjust the plan.

How extensive does the plan need to be?

Better lean and effective than extensive and unused. A small municipality can start with a clear warning chain and a few defined measures. More important than completeness is that everyone involved knows their role and that the procedure is practised every summer.

The honest limitation. A heat action plan does not prevent a heatwave and does not replace structural measures. It only works if it is actually lived, the best plan is useless if nobody is responsible in July. And you need to obtain the data basis on which locations and groups are particularly affected; it is not automatically available.

When KomAdapt is worthwhile. The substantive basis, where the burdened neighbourhoods are and which facilities are affected, is provided by KomAdapt's risk and exposure analysis. It links heat data with vulnerable uses, so your action plan is built not on assumptions but on your actual urban structure.

_Is a heat action plan mandatory for municipalities?_ There is no nationwide obligation to have a heat action plan. The framework is set by the Federal Climate Adaptation Act (KAnG, in force since 1 July 2024) with its consideration requirement under Section 8 (in force since 1 January 2025), as well as the Federal Ministry of Health's heat protection plan for health. Some federal states go further: in Berlin, the Climate Adaptation Act has obliged the Senate and boroughs to establish heat action plans since 21 November 2025. Also check the requirements of your own federal state. _What does it cost to create a heat action plan?_ The organisational core can be built with existing staff. Costs arise mainly from data collection, external support and structural measures. Funding is available primarily through the BMUKN's DAS funding guideline (managed by the project sponsor ZUG) and through state programmes. The Municipal Guideline (Kommunalrichtlinie) funds climate protection exclusively and is therefore not an option here. _How does the plan relate to the DWD heat warning?_ The DWD issues heat warnings based on the perceived temperature. The plan translates these warning levels into concrete actions by your administration. _Who should be involved in developing the plan?_ At minimum, the health and social welfare department, green space and urban planning, and the public order office, coordinated by a designated body. Involve care facilities, daycare centres and hospitals early on.

Inbound links should be set from: urban-heat, heat-protection-vulnerable-groups, climate-adaptation-strategy-development.