While extreme weather events are increasingly common in Luxembourg – such as repeated recent flooding – there are ways to navigate climate change, both in adapting infrastructure but also preventing even worse change to come.
“Luxembourg will be increasingly exposed to torrential rains that can lead to flooding, as was the case recently,” the Luxembourg water management administration said in a statement on its 20th anniversary in May.
“At the same time, heatwaves leading to drought will also occur more frequently.”
Over the past summers, the government regularly sent announcements to warn residents of high temperatures and the risks of heat exposure, as well as encouraging them to reduce their water consumption. The state has also amped its efforts to improve its alert systems for catastrophes.
Higher temperatures, more intense rain
Climate change may still seem like a faraway threat to some, but it has long since arrived in Luxembourg.
“It’s a clear trend: it is getting hotter every year, which brings along consequences, and with rain, we see differences over long periods,” Bruno Alves from the directorate of natural resources at the environment ministry told the Luxembourg Times.
The average temperature between the 1960s and 1990s stood at 8.9°C, but from 1991 to 2020 rose to 9.7°C, Alves said. Heat spikes and droughts are also more common, and although average rain levels remain relatively equal between years, there are significant seasonal changes, Alves said.
Climate change is here
Bruno Alves
Attaché for the environment ministry
In winter, for instance, there is less snow but more rain. While snow melts slowly and ends up reaching groundwater stocks, rain tends to flow into water bodies like rivers instead – thereby raising the risk of flooding.
In spring, rainfall is too meagre to respond to the needs of growing plants, and in summer, it comes in fewer but more intense downpours, which can also result in floods.
In other words, “climate change is here” and “you have to prepare for it,” Alves said.
Also read:Luxembourg records its third-warmest winter since 1947
Recent incidents linked to climate change
In the past few years, Europe and Luxembourg have felt the reality of climate change with growing intensity.
At the start of the month, the Spanish region of Valencia saw flash floods rip through its cities and roads, causing damages estimated in the billions of euros and claiming over 200 lives. Luxembourg residents caught in the floods shared their experience with the Luxembourg Times.
Also read:Luxembourg-based family tells of Spain floods ordeal
Central and Eastern Europe suffered from deadly floods in September too, and Greece fought wildfires for the majority of last year’s summer.
In Luxembourg, the floods of July 2021 remain one of the biggest natural catastrophes in recent years. However, they’re not unique.
Torrential rains caused heavy damages in May and June 2018 in the Mullerthal and the Attert valley, and in May, June and July 2016 in Bettembourg, Mondorf-les-Bains and Ernz.
A Geoportail map showing flood risk areas in Luxembourg.
“The biggest risk for Luxembourg is clearly flooding, but we will also have more extreme storms,” Alves said. In August 2019, a tornado tore through Petange.
Landslides, as a result of floods, could also become more frequent, although less likely to occur in the relatively even lands of Luxembourg, the expert said.
Also read:Two-thirds of Luxembourg residents say they’ve been hit by extreme weather
Adapt and mitigate
The Paris Agreement adopted during COP21 in 2016 asked signatories to work to keep global warming to a maximum increase of 1.5°C, but even this rise in temperature will have a clear impact.
Although 1.5°C seems little when talking about daily weather changes – whether it is 20°C or 21.5°C on a spring day – at a global level it has heavy consequences.
We should look at global temperatures like a human body’s temperature, Alves said. If 37°C is a healthy temperature, a 1.5°C increase, or 38.5°C, manifests as a fever, and a 3°C increase to 40°C can be deadly.
Also read:Global warming is already on the cusp of 1.5C, new research finds
“If we keep to 1.5°C, the impact will be smaller and we will need less adaptation. Higher temperatures mean more impact and an exponential increase in expenditures,” Alves said.
“Even if we have to adapt, we also must continue our efforts to reduce our CO2 emissions,” he added.
Architecture, planning, data
With floods being one of the Grand Duchy’s major concerns, citizens, communes and the government should focus their attention on providing solutions there, Alves said.
Citizens could rewild their gardens, which would not just support biodiversity but also absorb more water and locally cool down neighbourhoods, while communes and the government can work on renaturalisation projects.
Bruno Alves works on the climate change adaptation strategy for Luxembourg © Photo credit: Bruno Alves
These gives rivers more space to expand during floods, such as the Pétrusse in Luxembourg City, which has been lifted out of its concrete canal along a vast stretch through the capital.
Adapting the architecture of housing in areas at a greater risk of flooding is also key, as is setting up anti-flood infrastructures.
In addition, collecting data and sharing it with communes so they can better adapt to future issues will be crucial. Crisis management strategies need to be laid out for when catastrophes strike, Alves explained. This would help communes and the government collaborate and react swifter in cases of emergency.
Rivers, when given enough space, can swell during downpours, and thus prevent flooding in residential areas © Photo credit: Chris Karaba
With the current strategy and action plan for climate change adaptation coming to an end last year, the environment ministry at the start of next year will present a new, updated plan. This will come with expert workshops on specific topics but also information sessions for citizens.
Small measures also contribute to a successful adaptation, and can have a great impact, Alves reminded.
“You have to be realistic and accept that something is coming, but we can do something to improve the situation,” Alves said, stressing that “we can navigate it” and “everyone can contribute.”
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Publish date : 2024-11-22 21:36:00
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