Frankfurt health authority warns of extreme heat on Ströer's city information systems

At the beginning of the summer season, the Frankfurt am Main health authority and Ströer are launching a pilot project on health protection through prevention communication in public spaces. The aim is to directly address the population with behavioural suggestions in extreme heat.

The almost 100 digital city information systems from Ströer in the Frankfurt city area not only function as official warning multipliers of the BBK - Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, but also provide the population with current news from the region, weather information and messages from the city and the VGF (Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main mbH).

As part of the existing, long-standing collaboration, a further component will be added this summer. For the first time in Germany, an urban campaign will be pro-grammatically played out in real time with the help of the ad server - depending on the respective weather forecast. In this way, the population can be made aware of particularly hot temperatures on a daily basis and in direct relation to the current weather situation and prepared with specific behavioural advice. This is particularly relevant in view of the predicted extremely hot and dry summer, as Dr Peter Tinnemann, Head of the Frankfurt Health Department, explains: “Extreme heat affects us all - but not all in the same way. When temperatures rise, the burden increases for many in the city. Heat can be life-threatening, especially for older people, children and people with health risks. This makes it all the more important that we can provide information quickly and directly, because even small measures can bring relief. Thanks to the collaboration with Ströer, our information now reaches people in the centre of the cityscape.”

Alexander Stotz, CEO of Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH, adds: "It has always been important for Ströer to be able to offer cities and their residents relevant added value. The pilot project clearly demonstrates the opportunities that digitalisation opens up in cities: targeted, event-related communication in real time based on weather data, for example. Our digital media, which can mainly be found in underground stations in Frankfurt, enable us to reach and address vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, children and young people, thereby contributing to prevention and health promotion."

The pilot project is a further component of the warning and prevention information on the systems, which in Frankfurt am Main, for example, already includes the fire department and at federal level the BBK, BKA and the German Weather Service (DWD). However, the messages from the DWD are intended as warnings and, unlike the campaign now being launched by the public health department, do not provide any specific behavioural advice.