The Heat Is On: Health, Society, and Climate Adaptation
A truly hot topic: With rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves, the health impacts of heat are becoming increasingly urgent. Yet temperatures do not need to reach extreme levels to pose serious risks. They can trigger heart attacks and strokes and contribute to a growing burden of heat-related mortality that is likely to intensify with climate change and population aging. The effects are felt not only at the level of public health but also in everyday medical care, where a prescription that is safe in the winter may become dangerous during a hot summer.
How dangerous is heat really, even when temperatures do not appear extreme? How do rising temperatures affect healthcare systems, patients, and vulnerable populations? What forms of prevention, patient education, and community support are needed to reduce heat-related health risks? And how can societies adapt to the growing public health challenges posed by a warming world?
Join us for a discussion with experts from both sides of the Atlantic as they compare perspectives from Germany and the United States, explore the medical and social dimensions of heat protection, and consider how healthcare systems, patients, and communities can respond to rising temperatures. The conversation will address both the immediate health risks posed by heat and the broader societal challenge of strengthening resilience in a changing climate.
Our Experts
Dr. Beate Müller is a Professor for General Practice and the Director of the Institute of General Practice at the Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne. Her institute aligns research, teaching, and patient care with a focus on planetary health in primary care. She received the 2023 University Prize for Sustainability from the University of Cologne. Dr. Müller serves as member of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) and of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Profession (AkdÄ). She is also Co-Editor of The Journal of Evidence and Quality in Health Care (ZEFQ).Dr. Beate Müller, Director of the Institute of General Practice, University Hospital Cologne
Dr. Kai Chen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. He also serves as the Faculty Director of the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health and the President-Elect of the GeoHealth Section at the American Geophysical Union. Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering in 2016 from Nanjing University in China and the Alexander von Humboldt Postdoc Fellowship at Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Center for Environmental Health in Germany. He is the 2025 Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also the Editor of the GeoHealth journal and Associate Editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).Dr. Kai Chen, Faculty Director, Yale Center of Climate Change & Health
Welcoming Remarks by:
Dr. Eva Bosbach is the Executive Director of the University of Cologne New York Office. Born in Prague, she received both her master’s and Ph.D. degree from the University of Cologne. Prior to coming to New York, she was Program Manager at the German Rectors’ Conference in Bonn, Germany, and is author of several comparative studies about doctoral education and the humanities in Germany and the U.S. Dr. Bosbach was awarded NYC Council and NY State Assembly Honorary Citations in 2017 and currently serves on the Boards of the German Centers for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York and San Francisco. In 2024 she received a special recognition certificate as a partner of the NRW-USA Year 2023/2024.Dr. Eva Bosbach, Executive Director, University of Cologne New York Office
Dr. Stephan Isernhagen is Director of the DFG Office North America, representing the German Research Foundation in the United States and Canada. Overseeing the DFG’s North America offices in Washington, DC, New York, and San Francisco, he supports scientific exchange and cooperation between Germany and North America and serves as a point of contact for researchers and institutions interested in DFG funding and collaboration opportunities. Dr. Isernhagen has been with the DFG for more than eleven years. Before taking on his current role in January 2026, he served as Program Director for Committee Support related to Germany’s Excellence Strategy, Program Director, and Officer in Research Management at the DFG’s headquarters in Bonn. His academic background is in the humanities; his doctoral dissertation at Bielefeld University examined Susan Sontag and the New York intellectuals.Dr. Stephan Isernhagen, Director, DFG North America
More from our Experts:
Bunz, M., Nohl-Deryk, P., Sand, H. v. d., van Baal, K., Arendt, S., Herrmann, A., Meyer, I., Poppe, A., Krause, O., Heck, J., & Müller, B. S. (2026). The ADAPT-HEAT Study: A Multi-Method Approach to Develop Recommendations for Drug Safety During Hot Weather (The CALOR List)—Study Protocol. Methods and Protocols, 9(3), 78. https://doi.org/10.3390/mps9030078
Ingmar Schäfer, Valentina Paucke, Julia Nothacker, Agata Menzel, Susanne Döpfmer, Klaus Hager, Susann Hueber, Arian Karimzadeh, Thomas Kötter, Christin Löffler, Beate S. Müller, Martin Scherer & Dagmar Lühmann (2026). Association between psychosocial factors and adverse effects of light-to-moderate ambient heat in patients with chronic diseases: results of the prospective cohort study CLIMATE-II. BMC Med 24, 52 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-026-04622-4
Messer S, Cryns N, Herrmann A, Müller BS, Scharkus S, Skoetz N, Vorweg M, Wieczorrek Y and Grüne B. “Hitzetelefon der Stadt Köln: eine lokale Antwort auf den Klimawandel” [The City of Cologne’s Heat Hotline: A Local Response to Climate Change] Public Health Forum, vol. 33, no. 3, 2025, pp. 216-219. https://doi.org/10.1515/pubhef-2025-0043
Olga Amberger, Dorothea Lemke, Anette Christ, Hardy Müller, David Schwappach, Max Geraedts, Beate S. Müller. Patient safety and climate change: findings from a cross-sectional survey in Germany. BMC Public Health 24, 3233 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20752-x
Römer J, Herrmann A, Molkentin K, Müller BS. (2024). Application of Motivational Interviewing in climate-sensitive health counselling – A workshop report. Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen, Volume 189, 50 – 54 DOI: 10.1016/j.zefq.2024.07.003
Kastaun S, Herrmann A, Müller BS, Klosterhalfen S, Hoffmann B, Wilm S, Kotz D. Are people interested in receiving advice from their general practitioner on how to protect their health during heatwaves? A survey of the German population. BMJ Open 2023;13:e076236. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076236 (IF 2,4)
Herrmann A, Lenzer B, Müller BS, Danquah I, Nadeau KC, Muche-Borowski C, Traidl-Hoffmann C (2022): Integrating planetary health into clinical guidelines to sustainably transform health care. The Lancet Planetary Health 6 (3), e184-e185.
Chu L, Dubrow R, Chen K. Heat- and Cold-Related Mortality Burden in the US From 2000 to 2020. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(11):e2542269. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.42269
Chu L, Wang R, Gross CP, Wei J, Lu Y, Krumholz HM, Ma X, Chen K. Joint Exposure to Ozone and Temperature and Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Adults Aged 18 to 64 Years in the United States. Circulation. 2025;152:246–256. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.073614
Wang P, Chu L, Ban J, et al. Drought, Extreme Heat, and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(8):e2527818. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.27818
Chu L, Wang P, Qiu M, Abadi AM, Chen K. Extreme Weather Events and Their Health Impacts: International Variation. Annual Review of Public Health. 2026;47. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090924-033314
Transatlantic Tandem Talks
This event is part of the Transatlantic Tandem Talks series:
The Transatlantic Tandem Talks were established on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the North America office of the University of Cologne in New York in the year 2021 in cooperation with its partners the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in New York, the German Embassy in Washington D.C., Deutsches Haus at NYU, DAAD New York, the German Research Foundation (DFG) North America, the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York, 1014 Space for Ideas, the Goethe Institute New York, AmerikaHaus NRW, the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the American Council on Germany (ACG).
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the DWIH New York and its partners. Moreover, reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or support by the DWIH NY and other event organizers.
Event Information
October 14, 2026, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Online
Organizer(s): University of Cologne New York Office, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in New York, German Embassy in Washington D.C., Deutsches Haus at NYU, DAAD North America, German Research Foundation (DFG) North America, German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York, 1014 Space for Ideas, Goethe Institute New York, AmerikaHaus NRW, American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, American Council on Germany (ACG)