Could Denmark experience more frequent flooding events?
Last weekend’s weather resulted in severe storm surges which saw several locations flooded on Denmark’s coasts.
Water levels in several Danish towns exceeded their normal height by more than two metres levels as a result of storm surges on Friday and Saturday, national meteorological agency DMI.
The storm surges have been described by as a “once-in-a-century” event due to the frequency at which the combination of conditions occurs to cause the storm surges.
EXPLAINER: What is a storm surge and why is Denmark experiencing a 'once a century event'?
But windy weather like that seen over the weekend could give more, and greater, flooding in future, according to experts who spoke to national broadcaster DR.
The weekend’s weather was only marginally related to climate change but higher sea levels are likely to be a feature of future weather events, they said.
“If we look at the next few years, we have to expect a probability of storm surges similar to what we have today,” DMI oceanographer Kristine Skovgaard Madsen told DR.
“Gradually, the sea level will be higher and higher and that means that the same windy weather will give more flooding,” she said.
How future storm surges impact different parts of the Danish coast will vary depending on how vulnerable those coastlines are.
“But the sea level rises we are seeing are almost the same all over the country. The only difference is that the northern part of Denmark has slightly higher land, which means rises in sea level will now seem as drastic,” she said.
Madsen explained that a “20-year-event” – a weather event statistically expected once every 20 years – could become an occurrence every 4-5 years in Denmark by 2050.
Authorities will need to review Denmark’s coastal defences to ensure adequate protection against future flooding, she said to DR.
Another expert said that storm surges rank among the most serious weather-related threats to Denmark.
“Some of the worst catastrophes Denmark has had in historical times have been related to storm surges,” professor of climate physics at the University of Copenhagen, Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen, said to DR.
Some areas of Denmark are currently poorly prepared for rising sea levels, he said.
“This is something that all municipalities and coastal regions should look at again and again – particularly in inner Danish waters. To see if anything can be done better and how to be better prepared,” he said.
More frequent and severe flooding will happen in Denmark in the next 30-100 years, he said.
Climate change caused by human activities will result in relatively small rises in sea level from one year to the next but by a total of 30 to 50 centimetres over the next century, he said.
That means less severe winds will be needed to cause storm surges, which occur when water is pushed in the direction the wind is blowing.
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Water levels in several Danish towns exceeded their normal height by more than two metres levels as a result of storm surges on Friday and Saturday, national meteorological agency DMI.
The storm surges have been described by as a “once-in-a-century” event due to the frequency at which the combination of conditions occurs to cause the storm surges.
EXPLAINER: What is a storm surge and why is Denmark experiencing a 'once a century event'?
But windy weather like that seen over the weekend could give more, and greater, flooding in future, according to experts who spoke to national broadcaster DR.
The weekend’s weather was only marginally related to climate change but higher sea levels are likely to be a feature of future weather events, they said.
“If we look at the next few years, we have to expect a probability of storm surges similar to what we have today,” DMI oceanographer Kristine Skovgaard Madsen told DR.
“Gradually, the sea level will be higher and higher and that means that the same windy weather will give more flooding,” she said.
How future storm surges impact different parts of the Danish coast will vary depending on how vulnerable those coastlines are.
“But the sea level rises we are seeing are almost the same all over the country. The only difference is that the northern part of Denmark has slightly higher land, which means rises in sea level will now seem as drastic,” she said.
Madsen explained that a “20-year-event” – a weather event statistically expected once every 20 years – could become an occurrence every 4-5 years in Denmark by 2050.
Authorities will need to review Denmark’s coastal defences to ensure adequate protection against future flooding, she said to DR.
Another expert said that storm surges rank among the most serious weather-related threats to Denmark.
“Some of the worst catastrophes Denmark has had in historical times have been related to storm surges,” professor of climate physics at the University of Copenhagen, Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen, said to DR.
Some areas of Denmark are currently poorly prepared for rising sea levels, he said.
“This is something that all municipalities and coastal regions should look at again and again – particularly in inner Danish waters. To see if anything can be done better and how to be better prepared,” he said.
More frequent and severe flooding will happen in Denmark in the next 30-100 years, he said.
Climate change caused by human activities will result in relatively small rises in sea level from one year to the next but by a total of 30 to 50 centimetres over the next century, he said.
That means less severe winds will be needed to cause storm surges, which occur when water is pushed in the direction the wind is blowing.
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