Again, a number of studies substantiate at least the increased frequency of such weather conditions So far, the relationship between peak discharges and atmospheric variables has been investigated for Germany only for selected regions. For the Rhine catchment, for instance, increasing trends have been found in wet circulation patterns, areal precipitation and discharge for the period — An even higher significance level of increasing trends was found for winter maximum discharges compared to increasing trends in annual maximum discharges This indicates changes in the dynamics of atmospheric circulations which are of direct relevance to the flood hazard.
Longer persistence of circulation patterns may lead to consecutive precipitation events. Although the single events may have rather low precipitation amounts, the succession of several events may lead to saturated catchment conditions.
This is particularly important for winter peak discharge, which are in many cases triggered patterns with westerly winds These results on changes in circulation patterns have implications for flood risk management, especially for flood design measures. A flood frequency analysis approach in which no trend in the data are assumed may underestimate discharges of extreme events In addition to climate influences, other factors that play an important role in the risk of flooding are reduced retention due to straightening of watercourses, the construction of weirs, the loss of water meadows and wetlands, and increased surface sealing 21, For example, the river Rhine has already lost four-fifth of its natural floodplains.
Moreover, agriculture causes more frequent floods by the usage of heavy machinery on arable fields and the consequent condensation of soils, which hampers the infiltration capacity. At present, the influence of these anthropogenic factors is more pronounced than climate change Although the Rhine catchment has experienced widespread land use changes, significant effects on flooding could only be detected in small basins.
There is no evidence for the impact of land use changes on the flood discharge of the Rhine river itself These findings are in line with different studies, which found little or no influence of land use on flood discharge It has been argued that the impact of land use changes on floods is a matter of spatial scale In small basins land use changes can significantly alter the runoff processes, effecting flood magnitude and frequency.
However, these effects are expected to fade with increasing basin scale. The general tendency of decreasing impacts with increasing basin scale does not apply to river training works. On the contrary, river training impacts are likely to increase with catchment size as there is a tendency for larger settlements and hence large-scale flood protection works at larger streams The cumulative effects of river training works on floods in large basins are difficult to assess Averaged across many flood events, the river training works along the Rhine have increased the flood peaks at Cologne, whereas the retention measures have decreased the peaks.
There is no evidence from flood observations over the last years for recent upward trends in the occurrence rate of the extreme floods return periods of yr and more that occurred in central Europe in July Oder and August Elbe In floods caused a lot of damage and several casualties in the Alpine region.
In southern Germany especially the river Lech, flowing from Austria through southern Germany into the Danube, caused large-scale flooding.
In spring , heavy precipitation in Central Europe resulted in large scale floods along the Elbe and Danube. An observation-based analysis and model simulations show no evidence that climate change made heavy precipitation in the upper Danube and Elbe basins in May—June, such as observed in , more likely Among the potential negative impacts of climate change, the increased risk of flooding and the decrease in water supply during summer are of primary importance.
These impacts are the result of an observed shift of precipitation from summer to winter, as well as higher evaporation owing to increased temperature. This shift is expected to become more pronounced in the future. Additionally, the probability of extreme rainfall events is increasing particularly in winter and the duration of snow cover is projected to decrease 21, Presumably, across Germany the risk of flooding increases mostly in the months of winter and spring.
The Alpine region and highly built-up regions without sufficient retention areas are particularly at risk. It is as yet unclear to what extent the risk of summer floods will increase The regional distribution is however different.
In the north and northeast of Germany there appears to be a trend of decreasing runoff, while there is a trend of slightly increasing runoff in the south The results show very large differences between the projected changes for different model projections, however.
The uncertainty of the extreme event projections is too large to identify the robust change signals for most German rivers. Besides, wetter conditions with higher risk of floods are projected for the rivers flowing from the Alps particularly the Inn River in the near future — Some peak runoff situations could be eased by lack of melt water resulting from reduced accumulation of snow 24, Furthermore, decreased frequency of the freezing up of rivers due to temperature increase reduces the probability of floods triggered by ice accumulation, such as have been primarily observed at the Elbe river in the past Flood events in large watersheds are mostly caused by long-lasting, advective rainfall events land rain , with or without contributions of snow melting.
On the other hand, convective extreme rainfall events local extreme rainfall events often cause small-scale floods with high damage potential. Such small-scale floods cause approximately half of all flood damages in Germany For individual German river reaches, the impact of climate change on flood damages was quantified for the time horizons — and —, and compared with the reference period — In this study no changes in land use e.
The climate scenarios were transformed into river flow and flood frequency characteristics using a hydrological model, and subsequently the projected river flows were transformed into economic losses using damage functions.
According to these results 63 , the total annual flood damages in Germany sum up to nearly EUR million per year for the reference period — and, on average, double until the end of the scenario period In fact, total economic losses can be higher than the damages on buildings and small enterprises considered in this study.
The projected increase of flood losses is in line with the ones according to other studies for the European scale 64 and for the Rhine basin 65 , although the other studies applied different scenario data. Recently, a thorough study has been carried out into the change of the discharge of the River Rhine during the 21st century.
It was concluded that average discharge during summer and winter half-year will increase in with respect to At the end of the century average half-year discharge is projected to increase in the winter and decrease in the summer. High winter discharge is projected to increase both in and with respect to Due to deficits in methods, no statements could be made for the upstream stations Basel, Maxau and Worms Again, due to deficits in methods, no statements could be made for the upstream stations Basel, Maxau and Worms The annual number of reported flood disasters in Europe increased considerably in 1.
They made the Legend of the Lorelei — based on a towering cliff along the Rhine — into one of their key symbols. She combed her golden hair and bewitched the hearts of sailors with her singing. When they looked up at the irresistible siren, their boats would crash and sink. Should your modern-day cruise ship manage to get past the Lorelei unscathed chances are better these days, since the once-dangerous passage is now clearly marked with buoys it's worth taking some time to explore the sides of the valley.
A busy tourist area, the Rhine Valley has some of the best-appointed hotels in the country — and fine restaurants to go with them. If you are as interested in history as you are in wine, you might prefer a trip down the Danube.
It doesn't have the dramatic scenery or castles of the Rhine, but it's worth exploring for its own quiet charm and the traces of its varied, exotic history. From there you slip downstream beyond the German border to Vienna and Budapest, past the castles, palaces and vineyards of central Europe. The river Oder is Germany's easternmost river, and to travel along it is to tread the line between Germany and Poland.
Of course, the Polish border region is also a must for World War II buffs — the place where the Russians broke through the German lines to start the final assault on Berlin. If you're feeling really ambitious, and you have a lot of time, you can take a cruise on the Elbe from Magdeburg to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
The Elbe is the most important river linking southeastern Europe with northeastern Europe. From its birthplace in the Czech Republic to the point where it sinks into the North Sea, in Hamburg, the Elbe is over 1, kilometers long. The Elbe passes through varied and distinct landscapes, starting with a sandstone massif and running through vineyards to end up in meadow lowlands.
Tax revenues of the Federal Government will be a major source of funding for the minor waterways also in the future. However, an adequate share of the funding will also be provided by the recreational shipping sector. At any rate, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure is required by law to introduce fees also for professional and recreational shipping.
Currently, it is primarily the core network of the major rivers and canals that is used for freight transport. Alongside this network, however, there are about 2, km of secondary waterways that carry hardly any freight today. In the future, these minor waterways in particular, which today are of practically no significance for freight transport, are to be both ecologically developed and upgraded for leisure and recreational activities.
In particular with regard to the minor waterways, joint development strategies in line with the intended future uses are to be developed. Most of the time, paddle or rowing boots are found on the Lahn, and in some cases also excursion ships. Land and waterway users, nature conservation groups and tourism associations as well as citizens are involved in the concrete implementation of the new strategy.
Background Do you have any consumer electronics from the Far East at home? Economic capacity of the waterways Germany is the world's number one centre for logistics.
Waterways in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan — strengthen major routes The " Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan" FTIP contains all investment projects for the roads, railways and waterways which will need to be implemented in the years to come in order to develop our transport infrastructure and make it sustainable and efficient.
During the next appraisal stage, the main appraisal was undertaken based on the transport development forecast for using the following criteria: cost-benefit ratio; impact on environmental protection and nature conservation. Strengthening major routes The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure has defined the most important and most frequently used waterways as the core network. Waterways are an environmentally friendly mode of transport The aim for the German transport policymakers is to bring environmentally friendly inland waterway transport to the forefront.
List of measures A complete appraisal was conducted for a total of 28 waterway projects in the framework of the FTIP , and the projects were classified into the requirement categories of the FTIP Jobs and prosperity: the strength of the maritime cluster Germany is one of the biggest shipping nations in the world and is actively campaigning for maintaining and safeguarding maritime expert knowledge.
Inland navigation, shipyards and shipping companies The transport of goods on German inland waterways is one of the main pillars of our outstanding logistics chain. National Ports Strategy The Strategy dates from and represents new strategic guidance for the ports policy of the next ten years.
The Ports Strategy includes measures aimed at the targeted upgrading of port-related infrastructure, the improvement of the competitiveness of the sea and inland ports, the international and European ports policy, environmental protection and climate change mitigation, good training and jobs, ensuring appropriate safety and security and better cooperation between the Federal Government and the federal states in ports policy.
On the way to the port 4. Maritime Safety and Security Centre in Cuxhaven — coordinated efforts for more safety and security at sea Collision of ships in the German Bight: oil emerges from one of the damaged ships and drifts towards the coast. Maintaining an overview of the current security situation at all times The coordinator at the Maritime Emergency Reporting and Assessment Centre ensures smooth day-to-day operations, as the colleagues at the Maritime Safety and Security Centre also deal with important tasks when there is no emergency: for example, they compose a picture of the situation on the German coast from various data shipping traffic, meteorology, special events on a daily basis.
More safety and security for all The Maritime Safety and Security Centre is a communication and cooperation network of the operative forces of the Federal Government and the coastal states. Upgrading minor waterways to make them attractive to tourists — a waterborne tourism strategy Going on holiday in their own country is becoming more and more popular among Germans, and guests from abroad also like to choose Germany as a holiday destination.
A whole new approach In the medium term, a separate financial and human resources budget is to be established for these minor waterways. Development strategies for minor waterways On the minor waterways, future infrastructure standards and operations will be aligned with the types of use that are particularly important for the individual pilotage areas. Funding Tax revenues of the Federal Government will be a major source of funding for the minor waterways also in the future.
A role model for the whole of Germany In particular with regard to the minor waterways, joint development strategies in line with the intended future uses are to be developed. Blue Belt Timeline Since Since Planning and implementation of pilot projects Up to Up to Implementation phase in the transitional period and provision of additional staff and budgetary funds in the federal budget After After Creating the legal conditions and commissioning of the Waterways and Shipping Administration.
Since , water body protection includes measures specifically relating to the treatment of mixed water and rainwater. So far, storm-water tanks with a total capacity of 1. For detailed information on the above, download the fact sheet below.
Thanks to state-of-the-art technology and support from the German Meteorological Service, the Danube water level can be predicted for a period of twelve hours to within 20 centimetres. View the latest issue of Danube Watch online!
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