It's hard to believe, but it's true: climate change is currently our greatest threat. Even if this threat cannot always be seen with the naked eye, it still poses major challenges. The effects of global warming on nature and humans are becoming more serious every day. More and more natural disasters are caused by climate change and destroy large living spaces.

Above all, our forests are also suffering from climate change. It is the trees that are so vital to us. They clean our air and donate oxygen. But what happens if one day they no longer succeed and the terrible natural disasters take over?

What does climate change mean?

We understand climate change as a long-term cooling or warming of our climate. We have been affected by global warming for many years. This means that our average temperature is rising steadily. As a result, our oceans and the atmosphere are warming up, glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and climate zones are being shifted. Droughts, heat waves, forest fires, storms and floods are on the increase and have a particularly negative impact on trees.

The groundwater level continues to sink, the trees are no longer supplied with water and suffer from great drought stress. They shed their leaves early and eventually die of thirst. This causes great forest death.

What is causing climate change? What serious consequences does it have and what exactly can you do to support our precious trees? You can find the answers in the detailed article "Climate change - the topic of our time".

Current and past reports on climate change

Climate change is reported around the world on a daily basis. Here you will regularly find the most important news on the topic.

 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns: the time window is closing, we will already be living in the climate crisis in 2022 

The latest status reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) make it clear to us that the man-made climate crisis is already here - and its effects on people and ecosystems are clearly being felt. The results are not surprising, but they should finally shake us up. There isn't much time left: the window of opportunity we have to turn around is gradually closing. IPCC 2022 reports on the current state of climate change strongly suggest that almost half of humanity is already living in the danger zone and many ecosystems are already at the point of no return. Humanity needs the global shift now because there is almost no time left to get on a 1,5 degree path. The consequences of the climate crisis for natural and human systems can already be clearly felt. The climate crisis also amplifies other crises - for example, it affects biological diversity, food security and human health. In addition, the heat waves in Europe and Asia show the effects of the climate crisis on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems that are much larger than previously thought. The Mediterranean Sea is 3 to 6 degrees too warm. Caribbean temperatures and tropical conditions; the risk of extreme weather events such as heavy thunderstorms and showers is therefore increasing.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasizes that we must move from thinking to action. In order to limit the climate crisis, we have to become much faster. The amazing thing is that instead of falling, global emissions are rising in all sectors. Viviane Raddatz, head of climate and energy policy at WWF Germany, appealed in clear words: "(...) The time window is closing. But it's still in our hands, and we know how to reduce emissions quickly and effectively: get rid of fossil fuels, increase energy efficiency and switch to renewable energies much, much faster - with a comprehensive transformation of all economic sectors and Areas of life from construction to transport and agriculture to industry.”

For more information on the status of the climate crisis, see the IPCC reports here and here

Sources: wwf.de, tagesschau.de

Heaviest rain in 60 years - storms will rage in Italy and France in 2020

Due to climate change, it rains less, but also more heavily. Northern Italy and southern France have been hit by the worst storms in decades. Masses of water tear entire houses with them, destroy bridges and cut off entire villages from the outside world. Many people not only lose their home, but also their lives due to the great storm.

Source: ntv.de

Fire disaster 2019 in Australia - the most devastating fires in the country

Due to long dry periods, climate change is increasingly leading to large forest fires. Fire ravaged more than 12 million hectares of land in Australia. That is about three times as much area as Switzerland. More than a fifth of the forest ecosystems were destroyed and an estimated billion animals were killed in this natural disaster.

The hot summer of 2018 - great forest dieback

The summer of 2018 was not only extremely warm, but also very dry. According to the German Weather Service, since records began in 1881, there has never been such a large precipitation deficit in Germany between April and July. The effects of the heat are devastating: forest deaths, human deaths, animal deaths and agricultural failures.

Source: bund-rvso.de

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