Increased occurrence of intense rain storms being observed.
In recent times, Germany has been witnessing a significant rise in extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, heatwaves, storms, and droughts, due to climate change. This trend is causing a noticeable increase in deployments of the Technisches Hilfswerk (THW), the federal technical relief agency, particularly during heavy rainfall and storm events.
The President of the THW, Sabine Lackner, has acknowledged this trend in a statement made to the German News Network (RND). Lackner indicated that extreme weather events are becoming more common and that the number and quality of THW deployments have increased as a result.
One of the most concerning aspects of this trend is the increased frequency of heavy rainfall events. Lackner noted an increase in such events as a result of extreme weather, and recent incidents, such as the deadly train accident near Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, which was linked to climate-induced heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding and landslides, underscore this concern.
Lackner expects the frequency of larger THW deployments to continue increasing in the future. To support this assertion, she pointed to the preliminary nationwide peak temperature measured on Friday in Kitzingen near Würzburg at 37.1 degrees Celsius, and the parts of Germany that experienced rain and thunderstorms on Friday evening.
The German Weather Service (DWD) expects further thunderstorms in the Alps, Black Forest, eastern Saxony, and eastern Bavaria overnight into Saturday. Locally, severe weather with heavy rain of up to 20 liters per square meter in a short period of time cannot be ruled out, according to the DWD's evening forecast.
Organizations like Deutsche Bahn, Germany's main railway company, are investing heavily in infrastructure resilience to manage these rising climate risks. They have implemented dedicated monitoring and management units to mitigate these risks, including preparedness for storms and heatwaves.
In conclusion, the increasing pattern of extreme weather events linked to climate change is both a present challenge and expected to worsen, necessitating ongoing emergency preparedness and infrastructure adaptation efforts. The THW's increased deployments reflect this growing climate risk, responding to floods, landslides, and storm damages that have become more frequent and severe.
- The heavy investments in infrastructure resilience by organizations like Deutsche Bahn signify a recognition of the growing climate risk, particularly considering the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events that are linked to climate change.
- The Environmental Science and Science communities have a critical role to play in understanding and predicting these extreme weather events, as their insights can help inform proper adaptations to mitigate climate-change-induced disruptions for societies and ecosystems.
