Climate researchers: Germany lacks a drought management system

Germany needs drought management, according to a climate researcher. Although the situation is currently relaxed after the major drought phase between 2018 and 2023, such extreme events could return at any time, said Andreas Marx, Head of the Drought Monitor at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig. The federal government, federal states and local authorities would have to work together to develop a concept on how to respond.

The discussion currently revolves more around the security of long-term water supplies, said Marx. "However, water availability will probably not be the big problem in the future: How to deal with temporary drought."

Drought can affect any region

In a country like Germany with different soils and climatic regions, a drought could occur anywhere at any time. "Any place can be affected by drought," said Marx. You have to be able to react to this in a regionally adapted way.

One problem is that water extraction is not monitored. "We don't actually know how far the water rights are being used. For example, I can drill a well in my garden. This is subject to notification, but does not require a permit. However, no one knows how much water I then draw," said Marx.

Regional water consumption varies greatly

In extremely dry conditions, local authorities have recently repeatedly banned private water abstraction. Filling up the watering can for the garden in the stream next door was therefore taboo. "The fact that the focus is being placed on private water users, who only make up a small proportion, also shows the helplessness in this process," says Marx. Alongside mining and energy producers, industry is the biggest consumer of water. In a district with a lot of industry, you need different measures in the event of extreme drought than in a region without large consumers.

The climate researcher advocates deriving special measures for drought from the national water strategy. However, such a management plan is complex and cannot be developed in one or two years.