Danube River Burst its Banks in Hungarian Capital [PHOTOS]

The Danube River burst its banks in Budapest, Hungary, the day before, bringing the water level to its highest level in several decades, Reuters reports.

The Hungarian Water Authority reported that the water level in the Danube reached 6.93 metres late on Wednesday.

The reason for this was that heavy rains and snowfall, followed by mild weather, caused unusually early flooding.

"If we look at the bigger picture, we will see that the amount of precipitation in winter is increasing, and with rising temperatures we will see less snowfall, plus the snow may melt earlier," said climate researcher Anna Kis.

She said that in the future, floods caused by snowmelt, which used to occur in the spring, could occur much earlier and during the winter months.

Photo: Flood on the Danube in Budapest. Source: Atina721 on X

The water authority said that the last time the Danube's level exceeded 6 metres was in December 1987 and in 2013 it reached 8.91 metres. This year, it reached 6.93 metres.

"There was a large amount of precipitation on the Danube's tributaries, and due to the mild and wet weather, the snow melted, so the flood came earlier," the report said.

Although this year's floods on the Danube did not cause significant damage to Budapest, experts warn that climate change could lead to more frequent early floods.

Photo: The Danube exceeding its level in Budapest. Source: 2x2sometimes5 on X

Floods also affect Germany. They began after prolonged rains. The risk of flooding is also increasing due to strong thaws in some areas, such as the eastern Ore Mountains.

In the northern state of Lower Saxony, 30 gauging stations reached the third danger level, the highest of four flood warning levels, on 24 December. The Weser, Aller, Leine and Oker rivers in particular exceeded the threshold.

At the third level, homes and larger areas, as well as roads and basements, could be flooded. Firefighters and volunteers used sandbags to protect parts of several neighbourhoods.

The states of Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are also preparing for floods.

In the industrial Ruhr area, continuous rain has caused problems for the railway, washing away tracks between Dortmund and Hagen.

In Bavaria, some areas reached danger level 3, while in the cities of Coburg and Kulmbach it rose to level 4. The regions of Franconia and eastern Bavaria were particularly affected.