Hanover, Germany, is trying out cold showers. It’s part of an all-out effort to conserve depleted energy supplies ahead of the winter.
On Wednesday, the city of more than 500,000 people became the first major European metro area to turn off hot water in public buildings in a bid to stave off an energy crisis. But it’s also going further than that: Hanover is cutting hot water to swimming pools, letting public fountains run dry, and turning off exterior lights for museums and other public buildings.