Extreme weather conditions are becoming more and more common due to global warming – also in Germany. Climate change appears to be progressing faster than previously thought.
Climate change is becoming more and more noticeable worldwide, but also in Germany. The weather is changing, extreme weather conditions are increasing: heat waves, drought, heavy rain, floods, severe storms and enormous amounts of snow are all consequences of climate change. Experts are currently warning of extreme drought in Germanyhow echo24.de already reported. While a few years ago extreme weather was often not directly linked to climate change, today the situation is very different.
Scientists are now convinced: Extreme weather conditions and climate change are linked. Man-made global warming is changing our planet’s climate – and it seems to be progressing faster than previously thought. According to the World Weather Organization (WMO), by 2026 the average annual global temperature could be more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels for the first time.
Extreme weather in Germany is increasing: global warming is progressing
“As the average temperature rises, extreme weather events also increase and there are more heat waves. We also know that a warmer atmosphere contains more water vapor, which is why heavier rainfall is to be expected,” explained science communicator Susan Joy Hassol in a 2017 interview klimafakten.de. Observations of extreme weather conditions are increasing. the Weather balance for 2021 is shocking.
Germany had to painfully learn in 2021 from the flood disaster which catastrophes heavy rain can lead to. One App to warn of flash floods in the future. In general, water masses are a big problem: Due to the rise in sea level, more and more coastal regions are disappearing under water.
For this year, the meteorologists expect that it will be drier in south-western Europe and south-western North America than the average for the years 1991 to 2020. The Summer 2022 should also be hot and dry in Germany. In northern Europe, the Sahel zone, northeastern Brazil and Australia, on the other hand, it is likely to become wetter, like the German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
Global warming is progressing: 1.5 degree threshold could be exceeded by 2026
The probability that at least one year in the next five years – from 2022 to 2026 – will reach a temperature of more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels is almost 50 percent, according to the World Weather Organization (WMO). However, that does not mean that the 1.5-degree mark will be permanently exceeded in this case: According to the WMO, the value could be lower again in the following years. On average, however, experts expect temperatures to continue to rise in the coming years.
In 2015 it was still considered practically impossible that the 1.5 degree mark would be reached within five years, like that dpa reported. In that year, the world community agreed in the Paris climate agreement to limit permanent warming to well below two degrees and if possible below 1.5 degrees Celsius. The latter goal thus seems to have been missed.
It’s getting warmer – up to 1.7 degrees above pre-industrial levels expected
Globally, the hottest year to date was 2016, when the global average temperature was about 1.2 degrees above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900). According to the WMO, the probability of this record being broken by 2026 is 93 percent. It is just as likely that the average temperature over the five-year period 2022-2026 will be higher than in the previous five years. The calculations were made by the British meteorological authority for the World Weather Organization.
Last year, the global average temperature was 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial levels, according to the WMO’s preliminary climate report. The WMO will publish the final value on May 18th. The British meteorologists assume that the average temperature in this and the next four years will be between 1.1 and 1.7 degrees above the pre-industrial level.
Weather is becoming more and more extreme – also in Germany
“If we look at the global temperature, the latest evaluations show that the year 2021 was also significantly too warm with an increase of a good one degree compared to the mean of the pre-industrial reference period 1850-1900. We have now experienced the seven warmest years in a row since there are instrumental records on a global scale,” said Prof. Dr. Gerhard Adrian, President of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the German Weather Service (DWD) in a speech on March 29, 2022 in Berlin.
The climate expert also explains “that it has warmed up around 1.1 degrees worldwide since the end of the 19th century. In Germany it is even 1.6 degrees.” The conclusion: “Our weather and thus also the climate is becoming more extreme – worldwide, in Europe and in Germany. We have to adjust to that.”
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