Two-thirds of Austrians describe their homes during a heatwave as “hot to unbearably hot.” “The climate crisis is turning our apartments into heat traps—especially in unrenovated or poorly renovated buildings,” summarized Marc Dengler, Greenpeace Austria’s climate and energy expert, the results of an NGO-commissioned survey. The government was urged to invest in a comprehensive renovation initiative.
“The heat robs people of sleep, harms health, and reduces quality of life,” Dengler argued. “Our cities and buildings lack greenery, shade, and thermal upgrades. Instead of cutting climate protection, the federal government must promote renovations,” he said, calling for legal obligations on owners and statutory heat-protection measures.
Survey Finds Widespread Health Impacts
According to Greenpeace, survey figures tell a clear story: 80 percent of respondents experience physical effects during heatwaves. The health consequences affect large sections of the population—particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children. Two in five report sleep problems or reduced performance during heatwaves, and one in five even suffers circulatory issues. Heatwaves are becoming far more frequent and extreme, the NGO stressed.
Eighteen percent of those living in apartments said their flat becomes unbearably hot during heatwaves, in an Integral-conducted survey of 1,000 people aged 16 to 75. Those in unrenovated dwellings are especially affected. Forty-six percent live in a house or terraced home, 43 percent in a flat below the attic, and 11 percent in an attic apartment.
More than half of respondents demand that Austria unseal, green, and renaturalize urban areas to combat heat. Four in ten call for significantly greater state investment in thermal renovations. “Yet current budget cuts threaten precisely the opposite,” Greenpeace criticized.
