Swiss Plateau increasingly resembles Tuscany due to global warming | Environment

The increasingly long periods of heat and drought over the past twenty years are already changing the landscape considerably. Water loss is a dominant change in many places. As a result, greenery and coolness dominate less and less. They give way to the bright hues of yellow and brown, which are reminiscent of the dry landscapes of the Tuscan valleys, the foundation writes.

In the Alps, especially at high altitudes, the effects of climate change are also evident, but in a different way. There, an increasing “mineralization” can be observed, says fp in a press release, referring to the process by which organic compounds are converted into inorganic ones.

Glaciers are retreating there, which is accompanied by drought. Due to a lack of water, the exposed moraines become greener very slowly. Mountain streams and waterfalls from non-glacial watersheds turn into streams. That is also a situation that is well known in Italy, in the Alps of Piedmont and Liguria, says the foundation.

According to the foundation, water loss and increasing warming have an impact on biodiversity and reduce the variety of landscapes. This situation also reduces the recreational value and thus the tourist capital of the landscape. The foundation regrets that “the romantic ideal of a ‘green’ and water-rich Switzerland – model for many ‘Swiss’ in other countries – seems to be changing sustainably”.