Climate Information for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Germany

The impacts of climate change, particularly extreme weather events, on European cultural heritage have progressed at an unprecedented speed and scale in recent years. According to the final report of the European Union Open Method of Coordination (OMC) expert group, archaeological sites, museum collections and historical buildings are affected, among others, by more frequent heatwaves, severe precipitation events and heavy windstorms.

In this case, reliable climate information is required to develop appropriate preservation strategies and measures to protect and adapt cultural heritage to climate change. It is essential to know how the climate will change in the future at the sites where the cultural heritage is located and to what frequency and extent the future climate will influence historic sites.

In close cooperation with relevant stakeholders and potential users of five case studies in Germany, including World Heritage sites such as Sanssouci Park in Potsdam and Cologne Cathedral, the regional relevance of future extreme weather events was investigated. 

This information was used to estimate the potential damage to historic buildings and historic parks. The necessary input was taken from the latest ensemble of regional climate change projections of the EURO-CORDEX initiative (www.euro-cordex.net). 

The discussion will focuse on how to access and visualise the robustness of projected changes in extreme weather events in a way that is tailored to individual heritage sites.