On December 8th, all mobile phones will receive a warning SMS

The nationwide warning day is a joint federal-state project to integrate an efficient alarm system. Now the date is set for 2022 – that’s coming up.

On September 10, 2020, the first nationwide warning day took place in Germany. The reason: Since then, all so-called warning devices for emergencies should be tested regularly across countries. In view of recent disasters such as the 2021 flood in the south-west of the country, this makes perfect sense. So far, however, there has been a lack of implementation. So now onto something new with the warning day 2022.

Warning Day 2022 takes place on December 8th

The date for the next warning day has been set. Accordingly, the warning system in Germany is to be tested again on December 8th. The purpose is to issue organized warning messages on all available channels in order to prepare for an emergency. Among other things, a warning is to be sent out to all mobile phones this year via so-called cell broadcasting.

“We have to test new systems in order to be able to use them later,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). On the one hand, the test in December is intended to test the systems and improve them if necessary. On the other hand, you should give the citizens the opportunity to get used to the processes and to test the emergency.

Also interesting: Which apps warn of floods, heavy rain and the like?

How does a warning day work?

At 11 a.m. sharp, all the emergency services and authorities involved activated all available warning devices. These include radio and television stations, scoreboards, sirens and corresponding warning apps. The official warning app of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) is called NINA.

What is new on the 2022 warning day, however, is what is known as cell broadcasting, as already mentioned. With the help of this system, a mobile phone message is also to be sent to all citizens who are in the vicinity of a radio mast at the time. In contrast to NINA, for example, not only smartphone users can be reached, but all citizens with a mobile phone.

First warning day 2020 was a failure

The first warning day took place in 2020 and in hindsight it was a failure. Among other things, the reports from the warning apps only came half an hour late. In federal states like Berlin, the planned siren alarm also failed because the area was too densely populated for civil defense sirens.

In 2021, the Federal Ministry of the Interior had to cancel the warning day entirely. 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”. Among other things, this involved the installation of new sirens and the repair of old ones.

The fact that the warning day 2022 now takes place on December 8th and not at the beginning of September, as originally planned, is also due to the system planning. The shift is intended to give the cell broadcasting system even more time. As a reaction to the flood disaster, the warning system is also to be improved and more efficient in general, in order to be optimally prepared in an emergency and to be able to warn as many people as possible at an early stage.

Sources

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