Two heat-related motions

Two motions have been submitted to the Grand Municipal Council of the City of Zug (Grossen Gemeinderat der Stadt Zug), both of which have protection from heat waves as their common theme.
 

In the first, the SP (Socialist Party) calls for the ‘creation of a heat action plan for the city of Zug based on the Basel model’. This is because ‘extreme heat endangers the health of the population, impairs quality of life and has been shown to lead to increased morbidity and mortality,’ as the party writes.

Like Basel, the City of Zug should now also introduce a heat action plan with the aim of reducing health risks, morbidity and mortality rates, and increasing the population's competence in dealing with heat. According to the SP's motion, this could be achieved, for example, with a heat hotline in summer, or a radio campaign during acute heat waves.

On this website you can see where in the city of Zug it will be hot, when and how hot.       Image: zvg
 

In a second heat-related motion, the GLP (Green Liberal party) expresses concern about the educational environment. In an interpellation, the party writes: ‘Studies show that the cognitive performance of children and young people decreases noticeably at room temperatures of around 26°C. At even higher temperatures, absenteeism, accidents and health risks increase.’ The GLP therefore wants to know, among other things, what measures the City of Zug is taking to comply with the relevant temperature requirements in municipal school buildings, and whether it sees a need for action in existing school buildings.

Temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius have been measured
In its motion, the GLP also refers to the new network of 300 temperature sensors that measure where and when the urban area heats up. In particular, school grounds with large playgrounds stand out as heat hotspots, with outdoor temperatures reaching as high as 40°C in some cases.

‘These findings suggest that indoor spaces are also severely affected on hot days, especially in older school buildings.’ The GLP is therefore calling on the city council to ‘ensure a healthy indoor climate at an early stage so that our children and teachers can continue to learn and teach in healthy conditions in the future’.