According to BSH President Helge Heegewaldt, climate change presents society with "enormous challenges" that can be tackled with the help of scientific research. "We are therefore making the findings available to a wide range of stakeholders. For example, shoreline structures can be fortified with foresight and measures can be taken to make shipping more resilient to extreme events," Heegewaldt continues.
The studies look at the conditions that favour storm surges and storm seas in the German Bight - as recently seen at the end of October - and how these could change in the future as a result of climate change
The focus is on atmospheric conditions such as weather patterns and storm intensity, as well as sea level rise. The simulations shed light on what the future could look like: Without further climate protection measures, around 10 per cent more days per year on average could occur in the German Bight towards the end of the century with atmospheric conditions that are a prerequisite for a storm surge. Rising sea levels will further intensify the effect of high water levels.
