Climate change is changing the type of showers in Germany. According to a new study, there will be heavier heavy rain in the future.
Offenbach – In the future it will not rain for so long – but all the more heavily. According to a study, the type of precipitation in Germany will change from large-scale continuous rain to small-scale heavy rain. The reason for this are rising temperatures. However, this heavy rain will in itself hit significantly larger areas and be more intense than before, explained the German Weather Service (DWD) on Thursday (August 26th, 2021) in Offenbach at the presentation of the study “Heavy rain risk for civil protection and urban development”.
For the study, the DWD worked with the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK), the Technical Relief Organization (THW) and the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research (BBSR). Accordingly, climate projections indicated that the number of extreme weather events could increase and intensify due to climate change.
Climate change in Germany: “Heavy rain can hit anyone”
The precipitation data from the weather stations since 2001 was evaluated as a basis. This created a catalog of extreme precipitation in Germany. It turned out that the precipitation in warmer regions falls more frequently than small-scale heavy rain and less in the form of continuous rain over several hours or days. Extreme heavy rain of short duration, such as thunderstorms, could be significantly larger and stronger. Over the long term and the larger area, this leads to increased total precipitation and potentially greater damage.
“Heavy rain can hit anyone,” warned Tobias Fuchs from the DWD. Nevertheless, the specific risk depends on factors such as topography and surface sealing. According to the study, fire brigades are more often deployed in depressions and in densely populated areas where many areas are sealed off.
Protection from heavy rain: conversion will be expensive
The authorities demanded that the recording of the mission data be further developed. There is no database for a comprehensive and cross-organizational situation report that depicts the exposure to heavy rain. An additional burden on the emergency services of the civil protection system must be made visible.
In addition, a limitation of the temperature rise was required, which intensifies the extreme precipitation. “At the same time, we have to use adaptation measures to build an infrastructure that can cushion the damage caused by heavy rain events, especially in urban regions,” said Fuchs. In the opinion of BBSR President Peter Jakubowski, cities must be “compact, climate-friendly and water-sensitive so that as much precipitation as possible can seep away and heavy rain is better stopped”.
This conversion is expensive and takes a lot of time. Therefore, additional funding must be discussed. “The climate-friendly city needs urban greenery and the protection of open spaces through compact development,” said Jakubowski. Even with building pressure, more living space must be created on less floor space.
More heavy rain due to climate change: homeowners challenged
Property owners are obliged to protect their existing buildings from the effects of extreme weather. Outside walls could be reinforced and floor slabs anchored, said Jakubowski. The financial requirements are immense. “In view of the pressure to adapt, I think it is worth considering funding options for such adaptation measures.”
Open space must be protected from development. “Unsealing is the core task to which urban planning and development must devote itself,” said Jakubowski. More green is an investment to protect yourself from the consequences of extreme weather and at the same time an investment in quality of life in cities. “Municipalities have to prepare for more extreme events,” said the BBSR President.
The flood disaster, which led to severe devastation and more than 180 deaths, especially in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia in mid-July, was an extremely rare event, said the DWD. Board member Fuchs said that the amounts of precipitation measured here, statistically speaking, occur every 100 years or less. Added to this are the very long duration of 48 hours and the enormous size of the rain area of 43,000 square kilometers. In summary, the values are slightly above the precipitation that would have led to the Elbe floods in 2002. (tvd / AFP / dpa)
Heading image: © Bodo Marks / dpa
