Climate change

Climate change has long since affected tourism as well. Heat waves make cycling more difficult, water levels - especially in unregulated or minimally regulated rivers - sometimes drop below navigable levels, and wildfires are no longer rare occurrences in distant regions.

On the other hand, the cycling season in Europe is getting longer - March, April, and October are now good and fairly safe months for cyclists to travel. The only limits here are set by what tour operators offer.

Water shortages are not an issue in the Mediterranean region of course. Along the Rhine river, however, we keep seeing new images of low water levels; here, the lack of locks between Iffezheim and the Dutch border is making itself felt. The Weser, Elbe, and Oder rivers are also subject to significant fluctuations in water levels. On the Danube, high water in mid-June used to be the more common problem, but in recent years there have also been periods of extremely low water levels here, though these vary greatly from region to region. The Bavarian and Austrian sections of the Danube up to Vienna are well regulated; the first hazardous sandbar is located upstream of Bratislava, and the second near Esztergom. Further downstream, the river not only becomes significantly wider but also shallower in many places. Of course, when water is released for cooling power plants in accordance with intergovernmental agreements, even a dense network of locks is of no use.

The Moselle, Main, and Meuse, on the other hand, have ample water supplies and are well regulated for navigation.

For river cruises, this means that there will continue to be an increased risk of extremely low water levels on the Rhine, Oder, and Danube from June through mid-August. In addition, travelers should be aware of the risk of flooding on the Danube in mid-June. In the Netherlands, along the Moselle, Main, and Meuse rivers, however, travel is expected to proceed largely without disruption.

Der Horizont rückt näher
und was keiner weiß
jeder denkt ans Eine
doch dafür ist's zu heiß
Ideal (Band) 1981

Climate change is bringing unusually high temperatures to Europe. For some time now, there has been a "summer slump" in boat & bike tours in Croatia during July and August, and the Hungarian Puszta naturally conjures up images of heat haze. Yet temperatures easily hit 40 degrees in the Moselle Valley, the Upper Rhine Valley, and Alsace, too. This calls for cyclists to be well-prepared - from headgear and sun protection to water management.