Germany - Extreme Weather

Germany has had a variety of extreme weather events. Extreme heat, droughts, and floods costs the country $6.69 billion dollars annually. According to the Global Climate Risk Index Germany ranks 3rd for amount of extreme weather events.  

Heatwaves

Most recently in July of 2022 extreme heatwaves caused temperatures to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Occurrences of extreme heat has rose since the early 2000's and many of Europe's weather officials believe this change is due to the increase of climate change. An industry that is been affected greatly by this extreme heat is Germany's agriculture and livestock farmers. These farmers saw decrease in crop yields and many livestock animals died because of the heat. In 2021 Germany was the hottest region in Europe. Although Germany is the focus, all of Western Europe has experienced these extreme heatwaves and have seen the affect on the public and different industries.



Droughts 

Germany has seen many extreme droughts in the past one of the more significant was in the summer of 2003. During this specific summer Germany experienced an extraordinary dry period of time. This summer saw an increase in forest fires, loss in agriculture, and restrictions on certain energy production. Again during the summer of 2015 Germany had another extreme drought. 75% of Germany had at least a moderate drought. The worst drought Germany had seen in 253 years was between the period of 2014-2018. This long drought specifically affected the soil moisture in the country which devastated agriculture yield. A combination of no rain and extreme heat for such a long period made this drought one of the worst in centuries.



Solutions/safety measures

Many people have connected the increase of extreme weather with greenhouse gasses and climate change. Germany produces the most greenhouse gasses in Europe and scientists think the country needs to address this issue in order to decrease these weather events. Although the solution to this problem seems basic, industry and profits which produce carbon dioxide are difficult for countries to cut back on, especially when competing with other powerful nations. Safety measures Germany has implemented include warning systems for upcoming heatwaves. There are also developments in energy systems and production so energy does not need cut off in some areas during extreme heat. Emergency water supplies for agriculture have also been put in place for times of drought. 


https://www.climatechangepost.com/germany/droughts/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/01/germany-inaction-heat-plans-threatens-health

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/europe-heat-wave-could-be-worst-in-over-200-years/1216701

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extreme_temperatures_in_Germany

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/climate-change-extreme-weather-costs-germany-billions-euros-year-study-2022-07-18/


Comments

  1. Philip GianinoOctober 27, 2022 at 5:33 PM

    Hi Nolan,
    Your blog this week is very informative! In July of 2022, extreme heatwaves caused temperatures to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Although Germany suffered from this heatwave, so did Turkey and other European countries. In July the Turkish State Meteorological Services (TSMS) indicated temperatures rose above 30 degrees Celsius (degrees Fahrenheit) for the majority of western and southeastern provinces, while inner areas experienced lower temperatures but were still above and around 23 degrees Celsius (73 degree Fahrenheit). The hottest temperatures for the summer so far were recorded in July. Furthermore, I see Germany has implemented many safety measures, such as warning systems and developments in energy systems and production. Unlike Germany, Turkey has not implemented any safety measures. They don't even have warning systems for upcoming heatwaves.

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