BERLIN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) – A report presented on Tuesday by the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) stated that Germany is experiencing worsening impact of climate change, leading to regular heatwaves and severe water loss.
Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke expressed concern over the increasing consequences of the climate crisis, citing more frequent storms, heavy rainfall, droughts, and heatwaves impacting people’s health, ecosystems, and the economy.
The report highlighted the increasing frequency of summers with extreme heatwaves and record temperatures in Germany, with the first measurement of over 40 degrees Celsius north of 53 degrees latitude in Hamburg in July 2022. It also noted that droughts have led to reduced agricultural yields in recent years.
Germany has been losing 2.5 cubic kilometers of water per year since the start of the millennium, making it one of the regions with the highest water loss worldwide, as per the report. Additionally, the country has seen an increase in heavy rainfall, which is consistent with global observations. The disastrous flood in 2021 killed over 180 people in Germany.
According to a recent study from Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK), Europe’s largest economy could suffer up to 900 billion euros (990 billion U.S. dollars) in climate change-related damage by 2050. The government had planned to invest almost 60 billion euros in 2024 for green transformation, but these plans were halted after the reallocation of COVID-19 funds to finance climate measures was reversed by Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court two weeks ago. (1 euro = 1.10 U.S. dollar)
