At the peak of the June heat wave, Eike Roswag-Klinge appeared on Inforadio (rbb) on 27 June 2026. With temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius expected in Berlin and Brandenburg, he discussed how cities can become more robust in the face of heat.

Roswag-Klinge called for a change of direction in construction: glass facades and concrete surfaces heat cities up, while traditional materials such as timber and clay could counteract this. Redundant parking spaces, he argued, should be unsealed and greened.

Key to cooling urban areas, he said, is increasing urban greenery: he described Berlin’s tree law — which sets a target of one million urban trees by 2040 — as an important step, since trees can significantly cool cities through evaporation.