Deadly hurricanes, huge forest fires and floods: climate change is making extreme weather events more likely – the world will clearly feel this in 2023.
Berlin – When looking for a word for 2023, “extreme weather” comes to mind. At the end of the year, the past few months seem to blur into an ominous mix of floods, forest fires and storms – one extreme followed the next.
2023 was the warmest year in Germany since records began in 1881 – the German Weather Service (DWD) confidently assumed this shortly before the end of the calendar year. The average temperature is expected to be 10.6 degrees, said a spokesman for the German Press Agency.
Globally, according to the EU climate change service Copernicus, 2023 will be the warmest since records began in the mid-19th century. The EU environmental agency EEA had already warned in the spring: “Due to our changing climate, the weather in Europe is becoming more extreme.” 2023 was also a weather year of extremes beyond Europe. A review in excerpts:
January
Flooded towns and meter-high snow masses on the west coast, hurricanes in the southeast: people are dying due to strong winter storms USA numerous people. In California Trees break and there are flash floods. The persistent rainfall turns small streams into raging rivers. At the same time, tornadoes primarily hit the southeastern state Alabama severe devastation.
February
Tropical Storm “Gabrielle” is raging New Zealand with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain. Houses, roads and bridges are destroyed, power and communication lines are damaged. The government declares a national emergency – only for the third time in the country's history. At times the water is so high in some areas that only the roofs of houses stick out of the water.
March
Temperature records and full beaches: According to the calendar, winter is not yet over – but in parts of Spain The air conditioning is already running at night. Water is becoming scarce in many places. People groan under temperatures that sometimes exceed 30 degrees. On Mallorca It's the first tropical night of the year, so the thermometer doesn't fall below 20 degrees.
April
At the beginning of the month, several tornadoes raged in parts of the country USA. There are dead and injured. According to US media reports, there are around 50 hurricanes in seven states that can be classified as tornadoes. We're talking about a rare “monster storm system” that extends from the southern United States to the Great Lakes region in the north.
May
Dozens of forest fires are burning in the West Canada Thousands of people fled. The province of Alberta declares a state of emergency. It is an “unprecedented crisis,” says the province’s premier, Danielle Smith. Given the severe drought, the flames are spreading quickly. As a result of global warming, the risk of forest fires is increasing in many regions, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found.
In parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh Cyclone “Mocha” causes severe devastation. The tropical cyclone made landfall on the west coast of the two neighboring states with wind speeds of more than 250 kilometers per hour. It is the most violent cyclone to hit the region in more than a decade. There is also severe flooding due to heavy rain and storm surges.
During winter and early spring in Italy was still very dry, there is now heavy rainfall. In the Italian regions Emilia-Romagna and the Brands There are sometimes dramatic floods. The area at the Adriatic coast is hit by severe storms. The fire department rescues people trapped in their homes by the water or motorists stranded in the water. There are dead people.
June
Flames blaze in the forest area Jüterbog in Brandenburg, clouds of smoke rise. The situation at the former military training area is getting worse. The ammunition load is high and strong winds make the situation more difficult for the emergency services. Also on two former military training areas Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Fires break out in quick succession: near Lübtheen and in the Viezer Heide Hagenow. Both areas are contaminated with ammunition.
July
Capitals like Rome and Athens glow, in Croatia There is the first major forest and bush fire of the year: the south and southeast of Europe are heating up. In many places the thermometers show more than 40 degrees. In Greece Large parts of the economy restricted their activities.
For thousands of tourists Rhodes Vacation becomes a nightmare because of forest fires. The emergency services first got the flames under control, but then the strong wind changed and drove the fire directly towards tourist hotspots and villages in the south and southeast of the island. People are brought to safety. Video footage shows tourists leaving their vacation spots on foot.
When there are fires Sicily several people die. The situation is particularly critical in the north of the Italian Mediterranean island. Emergency services are fighting forest and wildfires.
A warmer climate can contribute to more water falling from the sky, more often in the form of heavy rain. According to climate experts, the periods without precipitation are becoming longer in some cases. And the risk of droughts increases, especially in already dry areas. Forest fires can spread more quickly in extremely dry vegetation.
August
A low pressure area over Italy is causing heavy rain Austria and the adjacent one Slovenia. Places are flooded, traffic arteries are cut, floods and landslides cause enormous damage. The heavy rainfall leads to mudslides and floods in southern Austria. A civil defense alarm is declared in parts of Styria and Carinthia.
Flaming inferno in the holidaymaker's paradise Hawaii: Thick smoke hangs over the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific, a coastal strip of Maui is on fire, parts of the usually lush green island have been charred black due to devastating bush and forest fires. There are more than 100 dead. Hawaii Governor Josh Green speaks of a “terrible catastrophe”.
Pacific Tropical Storm Hilary is bringing torrential rain to the southwest of the USA. The US state is hit particularly hard California with its metropolises of San Diego and Los Angeles. The storm, which is rare for the region, floods streets and topples trees and power lines.
In Canada Fierce forest fires are moving relentlessly towards two cities. Flames are destroying buildings around West Kelowna, and the city of Yellowknife in the Arctic Circle is almost completely evacuated. The government of British Columbia on the Pacific coast declares a state of emergency for the entire province. “This year we are experiencing the worst wildfire season ever in British Columbia,” it said.
Big parts of Greece lie under clouds of acrid smoke due to massive forest fires. The fires are also raging near the capital Athens. Because of the fires, air quality is deteriorating massively in large parts of the country.
September
Where there was a fire recently, streams are now turning into raging rivers: the masses of water that storm “Daniel” overwhelms Central Greece pays out, exceed all predictions. Cars are being carried away by the floods, people have to be rescued from their homes with inflatable boats, for example in the port city of Volos, where the water flows past waist-high in some cases.
With record rainfall and flooding in Hong Kong there are dead and injured. The government of the Chinese Special Administrative Region speaks of “extreme conditions”. Streets become rivers, subway stations fill with water. Hong Kong comes to a virtual standstill after the heaviest rains since 1884.
In a country at war Libya A severe storm causes great devastation. There are thousands of dead. Storm “Daniel”, which was already raging in Greece, is also affecting the North African country. The port city of Darna is particularly badly affected. According to eyewitness reports, the strong winds caused electricity pylons to fall. In the middle of the night, a dam bursts with a loud bang. A second dam also gives way to the water masses.
Exceptionally heavy rain falls on the US east coast metropolis new York partly lame. Motorways and streets are transformed into lake-like landscapes, and an airport terminal is also flooded and closed. Governor Kathy Hochul declares a state of emergency.
October
The Pacific storm “Otis” hits with full force as a hurricane of the highest level 5 near the famous seaside resort of Acapulco of Mexico Southwest coast. Within just about twelve hours, the tropical storm develops into an extremely dangerous hurricane. There are numerous deaths. “According to records, rarely does a hurricane develop so quickly and with such force,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. According to experts, the rapid intensification of hurricanes is due to climate change.
November
Even before summer begins in the southern hemisphere, large areas are suffering Brazil under a severe heat wave. In the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, the temperature feels like it rises to 59.7 degrees in one day. The temperatures in Brazil feel much more unpleasant than in Germany because of the high humidity. In fact, the thermometer read over 40 degrees.
December
At the beginning of the month, parts of Germany were covered in snow, with Bavaria particularly affected. State Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) says: “What we experienced in Munich at the weekend was not a normal onset of winter, but rather the largest amount of snow in Munich since weather records began. “It was an extremely special situation in a very short space of time.”
Around Christmas it is warmer again – but due to persistent rainfall and saturated soils, there is a tense flood situation in many regions of Germany with swelling watercourses and overflowing dams. Hundreds of people have to leave their homes over the Christmas holidays, for example in Rinteln in Lower Saxony and in Windehausen in Thuringia. The Potsdam climate researcher Stefan Rahmstorf writes on X on Christmas Eve: “Extreme precipitation is increasing worldwide and also here due to global warming. Climate researchers have been warning about this for over 30 years; The data from weather stations have long confirmed this.” dpa
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