BERLIN, Feb 5, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - As a winter cold snap grips Germany, 
Berliners have been slip-sliding on ice-covered footpaths, driving a heated 
debate on whether the capital should use environmentally damaging salt to 
melt away the hazard.

Snow, sleet and occasional icy rains have frozen over to cover much of Berlin 
in thin slabs of ice, which hospitals report have led to a spike in falls and 
injuries.

"I've already fallen about 10 times for sure," said Italian student Francesca 
Veronese, who told AFP she was considering buying crampons because navigating 
Berlin footpaths had become "very, very dangerous".

The Berlin fire department last Friday reported a daily record of 2,270 
emergency calls, media reported.

While German municipalities used to allow citizens to sprinkle salt on frozen 
walkways, this was banned years ago, in favour of just gravel, as the 
corrosive salt is known to attack the roots of trees.

Hamburg and other cities have now temporarily suspended the salt ban -- but 
in Berlin legal action by an environmental group stopped this on Wednesday. A 
court upheld a ban on people sprinkling salt outside their homes and 
businesses.

Melanie von Orlow, Berlin head of the environmental group NABU Berlin, which 
filed the case, defended the salt ban.

"Road salt is a major environmental problem," she told AFP, adding that 
"trees die off after prolonged exposure".

Salt also damages buildings, vehicles and other objects, she said, and 
presents "a problem for animals. Pet owners notice it on their paws. It's 
simply corrosive."

- 'Embarrassing for a European capital' -

The court ruling sparked much political infighting, with the Greens party 
accusing the conservative mayor, Kai Wegner, of having failed to prepare for 
the winter hazard, and the far-right AfD labelling it a "slap across the 
face" for city officials.

Most Berliners have been left concentrating on getting to and from work 
without injury, and some can barely contain their anger.

"Yes, salt has become a political issue," fumed Marc Ruediger, a playground 
inspector. "It's disgraceful, it's embarrassing for a European capital that 
we can't solve this problem.

"It's an emergency, so I'd just spread it (salt). And if they say it's not 
good for the trees, well screw that, people could die."

Retiree Werner Strub agreed that "the conditions are so unusual that you can 
make an exception, because hospitals are full of people with fractures."

Even a prominent Greens MP, Ricarda Lang, criticised the court ruling as 
"madness" on X, writing that "some elderly people no longer leave their homes 
because they are afraid of injuring themselves".

With more ice rain forecast, the German Weather Service meanwhile has advised 
pedestrians to keep safe by wearing non-slip shoes and adopting a "penguin 
walk" with small steps.