Germany’s record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures reaching 40°C, has forced road authorities to deploy winter service vehicles to spray water on motorways, a measure aimed at preventing asphalt from softening and concrete slabs from explosive buckling. The immediate effect has been lane closures on several major routes, including a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the A7 near Hamburg where a seam in the road surface detached, and sections of the A2 and A10 in eastern Germany closed due to blow-ups.

Prolonged extreme heat causes bitumen in asphalt to soften and rise to the surface, creating a sticky layer that deforms under heavy vehicles. Concrete carriageways expand, and when expansion joints fail, slabs can rupture upwards—a phenomenon known as a blow-up. In Thuringia’s Unstrut-Hainich district, crews are using sprinkler trucks to induce evaporative cooling on the asphalt, a technique also being tested in Lünen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and deployed at the A643/A66 interchange in Hesse. The approach exploits the same principle that makes sweat cool the skin: as water evaporates, it draws heat from the road surface.

The heat also raises safety risks inside vehicles. Researchers at the University of Wuppertal found that when the interior temperature of a car reaches 37°C, the accident rate increases by 33 percent, as drivers become aggressive or sluggish. Separate studies point to targeted cooling of the body as an effective countermeasure. A Japanese research team showed that applying cold compresses to the wrists, temples, and neck prompts the brain’s temperature-regulation centre to throttle heat-producing metabolic processes. Martin Holzhause of the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) recommends cooling these areas, where blood vessels lie close to the skin, to help the body shed heat. Mint tea, which activates cold receptors in the mouth without stressing the circulation, and crushed ice, which can lower core temperature, are also cited in the research, though they do not replace fluid intake.

Hydration remains a widespread challenge. An Ipsos survey of Italian workers found that nearly eight in ten do not drink enough during office hours, with many forgetting to drink regularly. Air-conditioned environments mask thirst but accelerate fluid loss, a form of “silent” dehydration that can impair concentration and mood. Nutritionist Silvia Ambrogio notes that even mild dehydration affects cognitive performance. The survey also reveals that 76 percent of Italians worry about tap-water quality, citing limescale, microplastics, and contaminants such as PFAS. Consequently, almost nine in ten workers consider employer-provided filtered water a valuable benefit, and home filtration adoption has reached 25 percent, rising above 30 percent among younger adults.

The immediate focus remains on road safety. The damaged A7 lane near Hamburg is scheduled to reopen on Monday afternoon, pending repairs, while authorities continue to monitor other vulnerable stretches. The use of winter equipment in summer underscores the strain that prolonged heat places on infrastructure designed for a cooler climate.