Baden-Württemberg: Heat bus helps those in need in Stuttgart on hot days

Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - The cold bus for the homeless in winter is already on offer, now Stuttgart is also sending a heat bus for the needy on the street because of the sometimes tropical temperatures.

Baden-Württemberg: Heat bus helps those in need in Stuttgart on hot days

Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - The cold bus for the homeless in winter is already on offer, now Stuttgart is also sending a heat bus for the needy on the street because of the sometimes tropical temperatures. Volunteers from the German Red Cross and from Stuttgart are now supposed to drive around the city for around two hours a day on days with temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius in order to provide the homeless with water and aids such as sunscreen, among other things.

"The test drives in the past week have shown that many people gratefully accept the offers of the heat bus," said Mayor Alexandra Sußmann on Tuesday. "So it was the logical consequence to transfer the heat bus to regular operation."

There are heat buses in Hamburg and Berlin, among others. So far, there has only been one cold bus in Stuttgart – it has been in service since 2013 when temperatures drop below 0 degrees at night.

The timing is right: Baden-Württemberg hits a new heat wave right on time for the first week of summer vacation.