LÜKEX 26: Germany conducts largest-ever civil protection exercise

180 organisations across 10 federal states are taking part in Germany’s largest-ever civil protection exercise to date, considering how the country would plan responses to drought and extreme heat.

Germany plans plan for extreme heat response

From November 4 to 6, a total of 180 organisations, including 20 federal organisations, 60 ministries and 80 further organisations, such as municipalities and aid organisations, will carry out Germany’s largest-ever civil protection exercise to date.

These organisations will take part in the LÜKEX26 exercise in which they must plan a response to the following scenario: Germany has recorded five consecutive drought years with major consequences for the population, economy and natural surroundings. A heatwave reaching 45 degrees celsius threatens to exacerbate disruption.

Emergency responders must decide which strategic steps to take to protect the civilian population. In true German fashion, the exercise is a plan for a plan. Organisations will plan how, in the above scenario, they would plan a response plan. For now, the exercise does not involve how that plan would be carried out.

“Only by practising together can we act more quickly in an emergency – and better protect the people in our country,” said Grit Tüngler, president of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BKK). 

The BKK has been running LÜKEX exercises since 2004, practising responses to various emergency scenarios, such as floods, forest fires and blackouts, each year. Since federal states are responsible for organising emergency responses, the exercise is designed to identify areas where it might be difficult for states and the federal government to work together in a nationwide crisis, such as a pandemic or cyberattack.

Copernicus says Rhine water levels still too low

The BKK exercise begins as the EU’s Copernicus programme confirms that more sandbanks have emerged along the Rhine’s edge and water levels remain too low. Water levels in the Rhine have been unusually low for much of 2026 due to a dry spring and hot summer.

In late September, water levels recorded at Kaub, an important gauge 30 kilometres southeast of Koblenz, fell to a record low of four centimetres. As of October 26, 2026, water levels at Kaub stood at 0,55 metres, still too low for some large ships to sail.

Low water levels in the Rhine have affected the German economy, which is already struggling with weak growth. Germany uses the central waterway, which begins in the Swiss Alps and flows into the North Sea, to transport around 5 percent of goods, namely iron ore, coal, sand and petroleum products.

According to a research paper published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in 2020, for every 30 days of low water levels in the Rhine, Germany’s industrial production declines by around 1 percent.