Even fish are annoyed

Cooling off my ass! Lakes often already as warm as a creek

Cooling down is the order of the day at the moment - but many lakes in Upper Austria are already as warm as a creek

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

The conditions are currently ideal for warm bathers. Because the local lakes are anything but cold at the moment due to the heat of the past few weeks. This not only makes it difficult to cool off, but also causes problems for the river-bearing "permanent swimmers" under water.

Lake Plesching in Steyregg, for example, is a pleasant 27 degrees on the surface, as is the bathing lake in Tragwein - and even Lake Attersee in Schörfling is already over 23 degrees. Only Lake Hallstatt (18.5 degrees) and Lake Gosau (18 degrees) are still defying the heatwave and guarantee cooling.

"Almost normal by now"
For Nikolaus Schobesberger from the province of Upper Austria (water quality supervision), the temperatures themselves are not unusual. "They are high, but that is now normal at this time of year," he says. Because the temperature itself is rising due to climate change, the waters have naturally also become warmer in recent years.

(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart, stockadobe.com)

Cercariae feel at home
The high temperatures do, of course, have an impact: "Especially in the smaller bathing lakes, there can be problems with cercariae. Although they are harmless to humans, they cause unpleasant itching," says Schobesberger. In addition to the warm weather, feeding ducks also encourages the spread of the parasites.

Algae growth is a fish killer
For the fish, on the other hand, the rapid growth of algae is a problem. "Because when the algae die off, the water is deprived of oxygen, which is of course not ideal for fish," says Schobesberger. In view of the weather forecasts, he expects the lakes to get a little warmer in the coming days. "Especially at the surface, as it will be cooler deeper down because the lakes are fed with cold water throughout," says the expert. And because there has been a gentle breeze recently, the water can be mixed well.

Outdoor pool always the same temperature
For comparison: the water temperature in Linz's Parkbad is kept at a constant 26 degrees, so it is currently offering better cooling than the local lakes.