Climate Change Impacts on the Coastal Regions of Germany

Climate change is posing great risks on Germany's densely populated coastal zones. Sea-level rise is accelerating and likely to amount to 6 mm/y by 2100 which is about 4 times the previous rate on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. As a result recurrence of extreme storm flood levels will increase significantly, as will erosion rates along sandy shorelines. Consequently, parts of the low-lying areas and as many as 3 Mio. people living there are at risk from flooding. Existing protective structures; e.g. North Sea dikes, will have to be improved but this proves particularly difficult within major seaport cities such as Hamburg. Along the Baltic Sea large cities and tourism resorts are still without adequate flood protection. There, high investments in flood and erosion defense strategies will be necessary in the upcoming decades.