Barbecue ban imposed

Drought: Alarming images from Vienna’s Lobau

The severe drought is taking a toll on the Lower Lobau—flora and fauna are at risk, the WWF warns.(Bild: WWF)

The images are not from midsummer, but are current: On Friday, the WWF published alarming photos from the Lower Lobau in Vienna. What can be seen: vanishingly low water levels and, in some places, already parched soil. 

The ongoing drought is causing severe damage—and it doesn’t stop at the Donau-Auen National Park. Photos from May reveal the alarming situation in the floodplain area. “Due to a lack of rainfall and low water levels, the situation is visibly deteriorating. Tributaries that should be carrying water at this time of year have dried up, small bodies of water have disappeared, and the natural connection to the Danube and to the groundwater is growing ever weaker,” says WWF expert Michael Stelzhammer.

River levels across the country have dropped drastically in some areas
As reported, three-quarters of river gauges in Austria are currently showing low water levels due to the lack of substantial rainfall. Particularly hard-hit are the Mur River basin in Styria, the Vöckla, March, and Kamp rivers in Lower and Upper Austria, the Drau River (Carinthia), and rivers in Burgenland. “The current low water levels are a warning sign of the acute consequences of the climate crisis. If rivers are already carrying too little water on a permanent basis in the spring, entire habitats come under pressure,” the WWF has already warned. 

And this could also affect the Donau-Auen National Park. Here, too, the ecological function of the floodplain and biodiversity are at risk, as the flow of oxygen-rich water—which is vital for flora and fauna—is lacking. 

Spring was extremely dry, with hardly any precipitation:

Action demanded from the city
The WWF is calling on the City of Vienna to take action: “The current drought is dramatically exacerbating an already critical situation.” Measures are long overdue. The WWF called for the targeted supply of water from the Upper Lobau to quickly provide water to particularly affected areas and thus stabilize them in the short term. “At the same time, structural improvements are needed: a strong connection to the Danube in the upper reaches, the restoration of near-natural flow dynamics, and measures to raise the water level, such as the targeted addition of gravel to the Danube riverbed,” according to the WWF.

Criticism is also directed at the fact that groundwater continues to be extracted for the irrigation of farmland within the Lobau, while the floodplain waters lack water. The agricultural use of land in the national park is permitted until the end of 2027, according to Stelzhammer.

Barbecue Ban in Vienna
However, the severe drought has already prompted the city to take action on another front: A general ban on barbecuing has been declared in Vienna at public barbecue sites and in designated barbecue zones. Among the areas affected are the Danube Island, the Old and New Danube, and the Waldnähe. Barbecuing in private gardens is permitted, provided they are located outside the forest’s danger zone. The ban will only be lifted after sustained rainfall. However, no such rain is in sight in the coming days.

Rainfall in Austria on Wednesday and Thursday:

Rainfall, but simply not enough
And the rainfall over the past two days has also been far too low for the most part, according to weather experts at Geosphere Austria. Although it has rained almost everywhere—with the exception of the Waldviertel and Mostviertel regions—over the past 48 hours, the situation has hardly improved. Rather, it is mostly a drop in the bucket. 

(Bild: Geosphere Austria)

The Lungau region in Salzburg was cited as an example of the dramatic situation. Only ten millimeters of precipitation were recorded at the Tamsweg measuring station from March 1 to May 7, which corresponds to a deficit of nearly 90 percent. “It rained in Tamsweg, too. But only two millimeters from Thursday to Friday,” reports climatologist Alexander Orlik from Geosphere. “So there has been absolutely no relief there.”

In Zwettl (Lower Austria), there was a total of only 22 millimeters of precipitation from March 1 to May 7. During this period, however, the average for the years 1991 to 2020 is 101 millimeters. The deficit is therefore around 80 percent.

Compared to the 1991–2020 average, Vienna also recorded enormous deficits from March 1 to May 7 (39 millimeters instead of 108), as did Linz (30 millimeters instead of 130) and Klagenfurt (26 millimeters instead of 124). 

“Over the past 48 hours, it has rained first in the west and then in the east. With a few exceptions—Semmering, Wechsel, the Vienna Basin, Burgenland, and the Innviertel—it remains very dry across nearly all of Austria,” explains Orlik.