Climate change might lead to water shortage in the Alps

Climate change and rising temperature in the long term can lead to water shortages in the Alps region, international experts warned Thursday at the Water-Scarce Final Conference in the Austrian eastern city Graz. The Alpine region originally is rich in water resources due to a large number of glaciers, spring and abundant rainfall either in summer or winter. But global warming may change this situation which has been shown in the past years that the water reserve has reduced gradually due to climate change, warned the experts. Observation data have shown a significant decrease of 25 percent in groundwater recharge in the past 100 years which has also resulted in the reduction of mountain spring. Director of the Provincial Department of Water Resources of Styria Johann Wiedner point out, in 2003, droughts occurred in the eastern part of the Alps, including the state of Styria and water shortages were also found in other regions of the Alps. He said the phenomenon was giving a warning that people "have to do something." To this end, the European Union begun a project called "Alp Water Scarce" three years ago to observe water reserves, air temperature, water temperature and water table in this region and study the relationships among them. Wiedner also admitted that there is no shortage of water at least in the short term and water supply for the local residents is totally insured.