Water temperature in Austria

Austria's lakes, rivers and lidos

Austria is a country of lakes. In Carinthia, the Wörthersee, Millstätter See, Ossiacher See and Faaker See are known for comfortable swimming and usually reach their warmest in August. The lakes of the Salzkammergut are deeper and stay fresher, while the shallow Neusiedler See on the Hungarian border warms quickly and responds strongly to wind. Rivers such as the Danube, Inn, Traun and Steyr remain cool through the summer because they are fed from the Alps. Most lidos, known locally as Strandbäder, open in May or June.

The 647 sites split almost evenly between lakes and rivers. The provincial hydrographic services, grouped here as Landeshydrographie, provide the largest share with continuous gauges on rivers and lakes. AGES, the Austrian agency for health and food safety, adds the official bathing waters, where temperature is recorded each time samples are taken in season. The Hydrographic Service of Burgenland covers stations on and around the Neusiedler See, and a few lidos report their own readings. Hydrographic raw data are unverified and may be revised later.

Bathing waters are tested throughout the season and rated from excellent to poor under the EU Bathing Water Directive. On the Alpine lakes, summer afternoons often bring thunderstorms, so it is wise to leave the water early when clouds build. Wind can whip up short, steep waves on the Neusiedler See. Below hydropower plants, river levels may rise suddenly when turbines release water. Cold water and strong current call for care on the Inn, Traun and Danube.