PIK hydrologist Dr. Hagen Koch explained in an interview with the 'Tagesschau' and with the 'Deutsche Welle' that the drought of 2018 put a lot of stress on the system and water reserves were not sufficiently replenished in the more moderate years afterwards. The drought of this summer therefore causes even more problems. In another interview on the 'Emergency measures for the Spree river' (Notmaßnahmen für die Spree) with RBB the difficulty of the situation. The general lack of precipitation in the area combined with the evaporation losses of -partially artificial - lakes causes problems for the natural ecosystem, water supply and touristic appealing of the region.
Dr. Peter Hoffmann, meteorologist at the RD2, featured in interviews with NPR, the independent, ABC news online and focus.de. Asked to explain the reason for these long periods of drought in Germany he states that "The current situation is the result of long periods of dry weather caused by changes in world weather systems" and "Climate change has lessened the temperature differences between regions, sapping the forces that drive the jet stream that normally brings wet Atlantic weather to Europe".
In an interview with BNN Bloomberg and Straitstimes.com on the implications of the summer drought on european trade, Dr. Fred Hattermann, working group leader of the 'Hydrological risks' working group of RD2, states that although we can adapt to a certain degree, we will never catch up with climate change.
