Overview
- Cities including Düsseldorf and Duisburg maintain city‑wide bans on bathing in the Rhine and enforce them with patrols and fines up to €1,000 for violations.
- The Deutsche Lebens‑Rettungs‑Gesellschaft (DLRG) warns that water temperatures around 16–18°C and sudden immersion can cause dangerous heart and circulation reactions.
- Rescue services stress that invisible hazards — strong currents, ship‑generated suction and Kribben (submerged rock and gravel formations) — can pull people away even in shallow water.
- Many public pools have opened for Pfingsten but operators report a shortfall of lifeguards, with surveys showing roughly 58% of positions filled and reduced hours or entry rules as a result.
- Several pools now require children under 16 to hold at least the Bronze swim badge to enter unaccompanied, a measure backed by rescue experts and likely to increase demand for swim lessons and public funding.