Bookstore in Waiblingen: Heat -free from 1 p.m.! An unusual step!

Bookstore in Waiblingen: Heat -free from 1 p.m.! An unusual step!

Waiblingen, Deutschland - this day, July 2, 2025, makes the Taube bookstore in Waiblingen talking. The local bookstore closes at 1 p.m. due to the oppressive heat instead of staying open until 6 p.m. as usual. This decision was necessary to protect both customers and employees from the health risks of the high temperatures that have become increasingly common in recent times. According to zvw.de this could be a premonition for the heat period of the future.

But what does that mean for the business processes in the region? The fact that not every company is ready to follow this example shows that "heat -free" is not yet a common concept in the economy. So while retail reacts occasionally, the majority of the economy is not that far. It remains to be seen whether other companies will imitate this step or whether they are still captured at the usual opening times.

The health risks of increasing temperatures

In the past 20 years, the heat -related deaths in Germany have increased dramatically, around 30 percent. Vulnerable groups in particular are older people, people with health impairments and also those who suffer from chronic diseases. Heat shells, dehydration and strokes are just a few of the serious consequences, which in extreme cases can even fatal. For example, around 15,600 people died during the heat summer 2018 and 2019 alone from the consequences of the high temperatures, reports Neuenarratrative.de.

How do companies encounter this challenge? Employers are legally obliged to protect their employees at high temperatures. From 26 degrees Celsius, measures must be taken to cool down, and at 30 degrees Celsius, further steps such as ventilation and the provision of cool drinks are necessary. But many employees do not know that they are not entitled to heat -free in the office, even if the temperatures in the rooms rise above 35 degrees. Here, employers have the responsibility to get the situation under control, as [https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/arbeitsmarkt/hitze-arbeitsplatz-werkungenrechte-100.html) describes in detail.

heat -free for schools and free professions

But what does it look like in the education sector? Students can be freed under certain conditions, with the decision mostly lying on the school management. In some federal states there are recommendations for heat -free from 25 degrees after the fourth hour. However, such regulations are often linked to the consent of the parents, and vocational students and high school students are usually excluded from these measures.

The relationships between climate change and more frequent, more intense heat waves have now been scientifically proven. Since the 1950s, the number of days with maximum temperatures over 30 degrees in Germany has tripled from three to nine a year. This development has serious effects on daily life and the work situation of many people in Europe.