Germany updates: Rescuers record deadly weekend for swimmers – DW – 06/26/2025
Germany's top water rescue agency has sounded the alarm after a particularly deadly weekend — with more hot weather on the way. For the latest updates, follow DW.
After a brief period of sunny weather, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) says the country saw one of the worst periods for fatalities at swimming spots in a decade.
It was the deadliest weekend so far this year, with rescuers lamenting a growing trend of tragedies and more sweltering weather on the way.
Meanwhile, Germany's Friedrich Merz continues a string of summit debuts as chancellor, as he meets EU counterparts in Brussels.
Back home, lawmakers in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, are set to debate troop deployments and the latest situation in the Middle East.Germany has recorded its deadliest weekend for swimming accidents so far this year — and one of the worst in the past decade — according to the German Life Saving Association (DLRG).
At least 15 people died last weekend, DLRG spokesman Martin Holzhause told the RND media group. "It was the deadliest weekend this year and one of the deadliest in the past 10 years," he said, noting that the final number may rise as not all cases have been confirmed.
The DLRG, which describes itself as the world's largest voluntary water rescue organization, said drowning fatalities in Germany have increased each year for the past three years. In 2024, 411 people drowned — 31 more than in 2023.
"On hot weekends, the risk of accidents while swimming always increases. But I cannot explain why so many people died last weekend," Holzhause said.
He added that climate change is contributing to a higher drowning risk by increasing the number of hot summer days.
"This also increases the dangers posed by heat," he said, calling for more supervised swimming areas across the country.
from DW's newsroom in Bonn, and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Thursday, June 26.
Germany has just seen one of its deadliest swimming weekends in a decade, with at least 15 drownings.
Rescuers who reported the figures warn that climate change and too few supervised spots are raising the risk, with another hot weekend expected.
Meanwhile, the German Bundestag is set to debate the fallout of the recent conflict between Israel and Iran and the extension of Bundeswehr troop deployments in Lebanon and Kosovo.
For all of the latest news from Germany, stay tuned here.
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Club World Cup: Football players and fans languish in heat – DW – 06/25/2025
Slow-paced soccer matches, sweltering players and complaints about the heat have been the themes of the Club World Cup. Organizers FIFA say they take reasonable precautions but many see a major safety concern. FIFA is "not taking the dangers of extreme heat seriously enough" and is on course for a "perfect storm" of unsafe conditions at major events like the 2026 World Cup, according to Peter Crisp from environmental advocacy group Fossil Free Football. Speaking after Bayern Munich lost to Benfica in temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) at the Club World Cup in the US city of Charlotte on Tuesday, Crisp told DW that such an outcome, which has become commonplace in recent days at the Club World Cup, should have been entirely predictable to football's global governors. "This was a very obvious risk. It only took a brief look at the previous weather records from the cities involved to show that dangerous heat was absolutely going to impact this tournament, and so it's proved," he said. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany referred to the "tough conditions" in his post-match press briefings, adding that one positive of the loss, which still saw Bayern progress, is that "we don't need to play in Charlotte anymore." Unfortunately, for the German champions, the issues are not confined to one city, with a climate phenomenon known as the "heat dome" seeing record-high temperatures recorded across the east of the USA. On Saturday, in Cincinnati, it was Borussia Dortmund who struggled to cope with the 32-degree heat. Pictures of their substitutes sat away from the pitch in an air conditioned locker room seemed to strike a chord with players, clubs and fans. Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said he was "sweating like I've just come out of a sauna" at the match and that it was "tough going for both teams" while acknowledging South African opponents Mamelodi Sundowns were more accustomed to such conditions. Kompany added that the conditions made it impossible for the players to play at their maximum. "I was a little apprehensive regarding the heat and the pitch. I wasn't worried we wouldn't win, I was more concerned with the flow of the game," said Kompany. The pace of games at the tournament has generally been slow, with players attempting to conserve energy, a criticism that has been increasingly leveled at World Cups in recent years. In a statement sent to DW, FIFA said it put the health of anyone involved first and worked with clubs and local health authorities to combat any dangers. "FIFA is implementing a sound preventative concept at all venues, including cooling breaks in the 30th and 75th minutes in accordance with the relevant protocols," the statement read, while adding that fans may bring reusable plastic bottles into stadiums. "From a broader player welfare perspective, besides having the right to make a maximum of five substitutions, teams can make an additional substitution if a match goes into extra time (regardless of whether the team has used its maximum number of substitutes or not), as well as a concussion substitution. Additionally, all teams have a minimum of three rest days between matches to facilitaterecovery." Many in football, including big-name players, coaches and the global players union, FIFPRO, believe three rest days is not enough for players who, thanks to the introduction of the Club World Cup in what is usually a rest period in the calendar for most teams, are being asked to play and travel more than ever before. Indeed, FIFPRO have started legal proceedings against FIFA, partly on the basis that: "the oversaturated international football calendar risks player safety and wellbeing." Crisp sees changes to scheduling as an easy first step, questioning the logic of playing games at midday when at the Copa America last June an assistant referee collapsed due to the heat during a daytime game in Kansas City. Larger changes to the calendar may well have to follow. "I think FIFA needs to think seriously about revising the protocol to shift kickoff times to safer periods of the day if that's needed. When we saw the forecast for Bayern Munich against Benfica, we could see a week in advance that it was going to be really dangerous temperatures," he said. "But unfortunately, in a rapidly heating world, those kinds of small adaption measures are really just going to be playing around the edges." Despite being asked the question directly, FIFA did not reference what the scenes at the Club World Cup would mean for its future tournaments. Sixteen cities are to host World Cup games in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026. However, only five of the stadiums that will be used have roofs to provide some sun protection in a tournament set to be played at a similar time of year. "I think 2026 is almost a perfect storm where FIFA has decided to massively expand the competition, pushing it to 104 matches, which means that it's extremely likely that many of those matches are going to intersect with periods of dangerous weather, Crisp said. "Expanding the competition so heavily obviously also massively increases the amount of flying that's needed as millions of fans join their teams and travel around the whole of North America." The next two men's World Cups are due to be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (2030) and then Saudi Arabia (2034). Both of these countries can reasonably be expected to be under similarly hot conditions at the relevant times. The impacts on the environment, the safety of players and the quality of the games are clear to many at the Club World Cup, but FIFA boss Gianni Infantino appears happy enough with their new competition. "Those who are not there, of course, they would love to be there. So, maybe some criticize it a little bit, but it's something new, it's something special, it's something big. It is a real World Cup with the best teams and the best players," he said on Sunday.
DW
14 hours ago
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Germany updates: Rescuers record deadly weekend for swimmers – DW – 06/26/2025
Germany's top water rescue agency has sounded the alarm after a particularly deadly weekend — with more hot weather on the way. For the latest updates, follow DW. After a brief period of sunny weather, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) says the country saw one of the worst periods for fatalities at swimming spots in a decade. It was the deadliest weekend so far this year, with rescuers lamenting a growing trend of tragedies and more sweltering weather on the way. Meanwhile, Germany's Friedrich Merz continues a string of summit debuts as chancellor, as he meets EU counterparts in Brussels. Back home, lawmakers in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, are set to debate troop deployments and the latest situation in the Middle has recorded its deadliest weekend for swimming accidents so far this year — and one of the worst in the past decade — according to the German Life Saving Association (DLRG). At least 15 people died last weekend, DLRG spokesman Martin Holzhause told the RND media group. "It was the deadliest weekend this year and one of the deadliest in the past 10 years," he said, noting that the final number may rise as not all cases have been confirmed. The DLRG, which describes itself as the world's largest voluntary water rescue organization, said drowning fatalities in Germany have increased each year for the past three years. In 2024, 411 people drowned — 31 more than in 2023. "On hot weekends, the risk of accidents while swimming always increases. But I cannot explain why so many people died last weekend," Holzhause said. He added that climate change is contributing to a higher drowning risk by increasing the number of hot summer days. "This also increases the dangers posed by heat," he said, calling for more supervised swimming areas across the country. from DW's newsroom in Bonn, and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Thursday, June 26. Germany has just seen one of its deadliest swimming weekends in a decade, with at least 15 drownings. Rescuers who reported the figures warn that climate change and too few supervised spots are raising the risk, with another hot weekend expected. Meanwhile, the German Bundestag is set to debate the fallout of the recent conflict between Israel and Iran and the extension of Bundeswehr troop deployments in Lebanon and Kosovo. For all of the latest news from Germany, stay tuned here.
DW
a day ago
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Club World Cup: Extreme heat poses questions for FIFA – DW – 06/25/2025
Slow-paced matches, sweltering players and complaints about the heat have been the themes of the Club World Cup in the USA. Organizers FIFA say they take reasonable precautions but many see a major safety concern. FIFA are "not taking the dangers of extreme heat seriously enough" and are on course for a "perfect storm" of unsafe conditions at major events like the 2026 World Cup, according to Peter Crisp from environmental advocacy group Fossil Free Football. Speaking after Bayern Munich lost to Benfica in temperatures of 36 degree Celsius (97 Fahrenheit), at the Club World Cup in Charlotte on Tuesday, Crisp told DW that such an outcome, which has become commonplace in recent days at the Club World Cup, should have been entirely predictable to football's global governors. "This was a very obvious risk. It only took a brief look at the previous weather records from the cities involved to show that dangerous heat was absolutely going to impact this tournament, and so it's proved," he said. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany referred to the "tough conditions" in his post-match press briefings, adding that one positive of the loss, which still saw Bayern progress, is that "we don't need to play in Charlotte anymore." Unfortunately, for the German champions, the issues are not confined to one city, with a climate phenomenon known as the "heat dome" seeing record-high temperatures recorded across the east of the USA. On Saturday, in Cincinnati, it was Borussia Dortmund who struggled to cope with the 32-degree heat. Pictures of their substitutes sat away from the pitch in an air conditioned locker room seemed to strike a chord with players, clubs and fans. Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said he was "sweating like I've just come out of a sauna" at the match and that it was "tough going for both teams" while acknowledging South African opponents Mamelodi Sundowns were more accustomed to such conditions. Kompany added that the conditions made it impossible for the players to play at their maximum. "I was a little apprehensive regarding the heat and the pitch. I wasn't worried we wouldn't win, I was more concerned with the flow of the game," said Kompany. The pace of games at the tournament has generally been slow, with players attempting to conserve energy, a criticism that has been increasingly leveled at World Cups in recent years. In a statement sent to DW, FIFA said it put the health of anyone involved first and said it worked with both clubs and local health authorities to combat any dangers. "FIFA is implementing a sound preventative concept at all venues, including cooling breaks in the 30th and 75th minutes in accordance with the relevant protocols," the statement read, while adding that fans may bring reusable plastic bottles in to stadiums. "From a broader player welfare perspective, besides having the right to make a maximum of five substitutions, teams can make an additional substitution if a match goes into extra time (regardless of whether the team has used its maximum number of substitutes or not), as well as a concussion substitution. Additionally, all teams have a minimum of three rest days between matches to facilitaterecovery." Many in football, including big name players, coaches and the global players union, FIFPRO, believe three rest days is not enough for players who, thanks to the introduction of the Club World Cup in what is usually a rest period in the calendar for most teams, are being asked to play and travel more than ever before. Indeed, FIFPRO have started legal proceedings against FIFA, partly on the basis that: "the oversaturated international football calendar risks player safety and wellbeing." Crisp sees changes to scheduling as an easy first step, questioning the logic of playing games at midday when at the Copa America last June an assistant referee collapsed due to the heat during a daytime game in Kansas City. Larger changes to the calendar may well have to follow. "I think FIFA need to think seriously about revising the protocol to shift kick-off times to safer periods of the day if that's needed. When we saw the forecast for Bayern Munich against Benfica, we could see a week in advance that it was going to be really dangerous temperatures," he said. "But unfortunately, in a rapidly heating world, those kind of small adaption measures are really just going to be playing around the edges." Despite being asked the question directly, FIFA did not reference what the scenes at the Club World Cup would mean for its future tournaments. Sixteen cities are to host World Cup games in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026. But only five of the stadiums that will be used have roofs to provide some sun protection in a tournament set to be played at a similar time of year. "I think 2026 is almost a perfect storm where FIFA have decided to massively expand the competition, pushing it to 104 matches, which means that it's extremely likely that many of those matches are going to intersect with periods of dangerous weather, Crisp said. "Expanding the competition so heavily obviously also massively increases the amount of flying that's needed as millions of fans join their teams and travel around the whole of North America." The next two men's World Cups are due to be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (2030) and then Saudi Arabia (2034). Both of these countries can reasonably be expected to be under similarly hot conditions at the relevant times. The impacts on the environment, the safety of players and the quality of the games are clear to many at the Club World Cup, but FIFA boss Gianni Infantino appears happy enough with their new competition. "Those who are not there, of course, they would love to be there. So, maybe, some criticize it a little bit, but it's something new, it's something special, it's something big. It is a real World Cup with the best teams and the best players," he said on Sunday.
