High temperatures may sound enticing, conjuring up images of days off from school spent splashing in open-air pools and lapping up ice cream. In her latest column, however, Susi Bumms explains what’s wrong with this picture.
It’s hot in Germany, not in the sexy sense of the word, but in the sense of global warming going full tilt here and now.
The way the media present heat waves really riles me:
The headline “HEAT WAVE ROLLING TOWARDS NRW” comes with a picture of an appetizing ice cream cone, and “UP TO 38 DEGREES: ‘JÜRGEN’ HIGH HEATS UP BERLIN AND BRANDENBURG” with a shot of two women jumping into an outdoor pool.
A woman wearing designer sunglasses and laughing blissfully accompanies the forecast “WEATHERMAN SAYS WEDNESDAY COULD BREAK 40-DEGREE MARK”.
Firefighters are now on red alert for the threat of forest fires in many parts of Germany. Heat waves threaten not only our crops, but also our cardiovascular system. Germany’s Federal Environment Agency predicts the death toll due to extreme heat will increase by five thousand in Germany by mid-century.
Ice cream may be selling like hot cakes these days, but heat waves are not synonymous with summer fun at outdoor pools. So it’s high time we scrapped these misleading visuals.
„Frankly...“
On an alternating basis each week, our “Frankly ...” column series is written by Susi Bumms, Maximilian Buddenbohm, Sineb El Masrar and Marie Leão. In the “Frankly…visual” column, Susi Bumms observes pop culture and politics, commenting on what she sees through cartoons and pictures.
July 2022