Water management in the Alps faces new challenges due to climate change: Climate change leads to changes in precipitation patterns and puts additional pressures on Alpine water resources, resulting in exceptional situations of both water scarcity and floods. There tends to be less snow but more rain in winter and less water in summer, with drought episodes becoming more frequent, especially in the southern and south-eastern Alps. The decrease of snow and the melting of glaciers also reduce the amount of stored water. The use of water for agriculture, households, hydropower generation and tourism needs to be managed carefully to prevent conflicts of usage and to keep the water ecosystems functional.