By Gunnar Schupelius
It’s getting warmer and drier, but that’s not an immediate threat. Nevertheless, the fear of climate change has taken on hysterical characteristics and is used politically, says Gunnar Schupelius.
This summer, the weather forecast mostly resembled a weather warning. Rainy areas were announced as “heavy rain”, thunderstorms as “severe storms”. Maximum temperatures of 35 degrees in the shade were considered “extreme heat”, lack of rain as “drought” and mild evenings as “tropical nights”.
Meteorologists kept issuing “weather warnings,” which were reinforced by the media to create the impression of imminent danger. Any deviation from the norm was taken as proof of the “climate catastrophe”.
Is the weather really that extraordinary? There are four aspects to consider: the temperatures, the amount of rain, the Forest fires and the harvest.
Is it warmer on average than it used to be? Yes. 30 years ago, around 13 days with values over 30 degrees were counted in a Berlin summer, today it is 20 days. This year, however, there was no heat record. The summers of 2019, 2018, 1992 and 2003 were warmer.
Is there less rain? Yes. In June, only 47 percent of the average rainfall fell 30 years ago, in July it was 71 percent and in August 63 percent.
Are there more forest fires? no The number of forest fires was 490 this summer, 491 in 2018, with fewer forest fires in between (2019: 417, 2020: 287, 2021: 157).
Is the harvest getting worse overall? no This year, the grain yield was three percent below the previous year’s level, but the apple farmers are expecting a golden harvest, which at 24,100 tons will be significantly higher than in previous years (2021: 22,230, 2019: 14,900 tons).
Nationwide, there is mostly good news from agriculture. The “official harvest report 2022” shows an increase in the grain harvest of 4.8 percent compared to the previous year. The rapeseed yield even increased by 14.8 percent.
Overall, it can be said that it is continuously getting warmer and drier, especially in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, which has always been one of the warmest and driest areas in Germany. However, there are no specific risks associated with this, not even for the food supply.
However, the media and public perception is different: the fear of climate change has taken on hysterical proportions. This fear is used politically, above all by the Greens, who are driving the other parties before them.
That is why there are such blatant wrong decisions as the so-called energy transition.
Is Gunnar Schupelius right? Call: 030/2591 73153 or email: [email protected]