Residents of western Germany evacuated as fire in Belgium closes in on border, increasing number of rejected asylum seekers leave the country, Social Democrats present heat action plan and more news on Monday, August 17th.
Monday's top story: German border town evacuated due to wildfire
A German town close to Belgium on Sunday ordered some of its residents to evacuate as the worst wildfire in modern Belgian history raged just over the border.
According to a statement from the mayor's office in Monschau, a town with 12,000 residents, two streets were being evacuated as a result of the fire and smoke, along with the weather conditions.
The authorities had earlier recommended that "residents of areas close to the border leave these zones", warning that the blaze's front lay 1.5 kilometres from the Germany-Belgium border and just 1.8 kilometres from the nearest inhabited area.
The Belgian authorities have already ordered the evacuation of the settlement of Kuechelscheid, a 10-minute drive from Monschau.
Some 1,800 people were evacuated in western Germany overnight Thursday to Friday as a result of a wildfire, one of many to rage across a tinder-dry and drought-hit Europe this summer.
MAPS: Where in Germany faces the highest risk of wildfires
More rejected asylum seekers leave Germany
The number of voluntary departures of migrants and rejected asylum seekers has increased, according to media reports.
In the first half of the current year, 9,276 people returned to their homes as part of federal return programs, the newspapers of the Funke media group reported, citing the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
A sign points to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Authorities in Guinea say Germany has deported a number of its citizens. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Patrick Pleul
In the first half of 2025, by comparison, there were just under 7,300 people who left voluntarily via the humanitarian return promotion programme.
According to the report, the subsidized voluntary return of foreigners who are obliged to leave the country had increased significantly in 2025. In 2025 as a whole, the federal authorities supported around 16,600 people in their assisted return to their country of origin or a third country willing to take them.
According to the Central Register of Foreigners, a total of 258,845 people were obliged to leave Germany at the end of June 2026. Of these, 199,271 were tolerated, or effectively allowed to stay.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the authorities in the federal and state governments deported a total of 18,939 people from Germany between January and the end of June, some with coercion by the police, and others with incentives and funding from the federal government.
To promote the return of refugees, BAMF pays for flights and 'start-up aid' of 1,000 euros per adult and 500 euros for children and young people.
READ ALSO: Germany's draft budget halves funding for integration courses
SPD ministers present heat action plan
On Sunday, a group of Social Democrat (SPD) ministers presented a joint action plan for heat protection and called for an amendment to Germany's Basic Law before the next federal election to enshrine "climate adaptation and nature conservation" in its constitution.
"The consequences of climate change are affecting people worldwide and, increasingly, us here in Germany," the document from the SPD ministers states.
The four-page paper, which was seen by AFP on Sunday, includes provisions for a national heat action plan, changes to building planning laws, and worker protection against extreme temperatures.
But the Union parliamentary group has said the SPD's plans need to be clarified. "Only a concrete proposal will show whether an amendment to the Grundgesetz makes sense for this purpose," Klaus Mack, the Union representative responsible for environment and climate protection, told AFP.
The Green Party parliamentary group said it it supported an initiative to amend the constitution for climate adaptation and nature conservation.
But the Left parliamentary group was more sceptical, with climate policy spokesperson Fabian Fahl predicting that the SPD would not be able to "prevail with its more-than-half-hearted demand against its coalition partner, the CDU – a party intent on drastic cuts".
Any amendments to the constitution require a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag, which cannot be achieved without opposition support.
READ ALSO: 'Not a word' - German top leadership silent on sky-rocketing heat deaths
Patient advocates call for heat to be recorded as cause of death
Amid the rising death toll as a result of the heatwave, patient advocates are calling for heat to be recorded as a cause of death on death certificates.
"The consequences of climate change finally need to be given a face," Eugen Brysch, head of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, told the Rheinische Post on Saturday.
Similarly to Germany's association of intensive care physicians, Brysch suspects that the number of heat-related deaths reported by public health agency the Robert Koch Institute is too low due to a high number of unreported cases.
AfD sees no link between forest fires and climate change
On Sunday, Karsten Hilse, the AfD group's spokesperson on climate policy, denied any connection between climate change and the increasing frequency of forest fires, contradicting the broad consensus among scientists and fire safety experts.
"Unlike climate change, forest fires are 99 percent man-made, usually caused by negligent arson," Hilse told AFP.
Politicians from other parties were attempting "to create the impression that forest fires have something to do with climate change" in order to justify climate protection measures, the far-right MP said.
According to climate experts and scientists, however, human-induced climate change is causing longer heatwaves and droughts. These conditions dry out vegetation, thereby increasing the likelihood of forest fires, which are then often triggered by careless or deliberate human behaviour.
READ ALSO:
Additional reporting by AFP and Paul Krantz.
