September 17, 2024, 8:24 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Warning Day 2024 is coming up. This is a joint federal and state project to integrate an efficient alarm system. It will take place on September 12, 2024.
Germany’s first nationwide Warning Day occurred on September 10, 2020. The rationale is that, from that point forward, all so-called warning devices should undergo regular testing across all federal states for emergency preparedness. In view of disasters such as the 2021 floods, this seems to make perfect sense. Initially, however, there were some issues with the implementation. Following relatively smooth operations over the past two years, the stage is set for the next Warning Day in 2024.
Overview
Warning Day 2024 will take place on September 12
Warning Day 2024 is scheduled for September 12, which falls on a Thursday. This is when the warning system in Germany is to be tested again. The aim is to disseminate coordinated warning messages across all available channels to prepare for potential emergencies. Consequently, sirens will sound simultaneously, and corresponding alerts will be sent through text messages and disaster apps. The so-called cell broadcast system is used for this. Broadcasters will also interrupt their programs and issue a corresponding message.
“We have to test new systems in order to be able to use them precisely later on,” said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD). Traditionally, the test is conducted in September. However, due to technical issues, the 2022 Warning Day was postponed to December. In addition to testing the systems themselves, the event is also intended to ensure that everyone living in Germany can get used to them and be prepared for an emergency.
How does a warning day work?
At 11:00 am on the dot, all the emergency services and authorities involved will activate all available warning devices. These include radio and television stations, display boards, sirens, and corresponding warning apps. The official warning app of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), for example, is called NINA. An official all-clear is issued as planned at 11:45 am.
Since 2021, there has also been the aforementioned cell broadcast. With the help of this system, a cell phone message is also sent to all citizens who are in the vicinity of a radio mast at the time. Unlike NINA, for example, not only smartphone users can be reached, but everyone with a cell phone. While the warning already works in this case, it is not yet possible to give the all-clear via cell broadcast.
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First warning day in 2020 was a failure
The first warning day took place in 2020 and was a failure in hindsight. Among other things, the messages from the warning apps only arrived half an hour late. In federal states such as Berlin, the planned siren alert was also canceled because the area is too densely populated for civil defense sirens.
In 2021, the Federal Ministry of the Interior even had to cancel the warning day altogether. The reason given by Horst Seehofer (CSU), who was responsible for the project at the time, was that the BBK was still working on a “comprehensive test landscape.” This involved, among other things, the installation of new sirens and the repair of old ones.
The rescheduling of Warning Day 2022 to December 8, rather than early September as initially planned, was also a result of system planning considerations. The postponement was intended to give the cell broadcast system even more time. All processes proceeded smoothly in 2023, and it is hoped that this will also be the case for the nationwide Warning Day in 2024.
The German original of this article was published on September 11, 2024.