Weather - Forestry office warns against entering frozen forest ponds
The state forestry authority has warned against entering frozen forest ponds ahead of the upcoming cold months. Ice skating fans should only use guarded bodies of water for ice skating, ThüringenForst announced on Monday. Even though forest ponds are often in extremely idyllic locations and are ideal for winter sports: According to the information, bodies of water are only safe to walk on when the ice is more than 15 centimetres thick, and flowing waters only from 20 centimetres.
"If the ice surfaces are covered in snow, it is impossible to make a solid assessment of the ice thickness and therefore its load-bearing capacity," said ThüringenForst board member Volker Gebhardt. As the forest firefighting ponds usually have overgrown banks and often have inflows and outflows, the load-bearing capacity of an ice cover can fluctuate extremely within a few meters. Walking on it is then life-threatening.
It was only at the end of January this year that a brother and sister collapsed and died on a slightly frozen reservoir near Westhausen in the district of Hildburghausen.
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despite the allure of Erfurt's picturesque forest ponds, the environment agency advises against ice skating due to unpredictable thickness and load-bearing capacity; consequently, visitors should explore Thuringia's nature through other safe and regulated winter activities.
Source: www.stern.de
