Climate crisis: water loss particularly high in Germany
The consequences of the climate crisis in Germany continue to worsen, according to a new report by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). According to the report, Germany is one of the regions with the highest water loss worldwide. The Federal Republic loses 2.5 cubic kilometers of water per year, said Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) at the presentation of the report in Berlin on Tuesday. "This is an unimaginably large amount that is putting a strain on our ecosystems, which could also have an impact on drinking water supplies, especially in the future."
UBA President Dirk Messner added that if you extrapolate this over 20 years, it is the amount of water that Lake Constance contains today. Although the availability of water is better compared to southern European countries, Germany is losing the most and fastest water worldwide in terms of water volume. According to the UBA, this is partly due to the fact that Germany has built an infrastructure that drains a lot of water - for example through drainage ditches in agriculture and sewers in cities and little infiltration area.
"And when the country loses water, the entire ecosystem is affected." For example, there are devastating consequences for agriculture. "Agriculture and water are closely linked," said Messner. "The loss of water that we are experiencing here is reflected economically in agriculture and has something to do with food for us as humans." In 2018 - a hot summer - winter wheat yields were 15 percent lower than in a normal year.
Damage causes costs
The state of the forests is also dramatic in view of the drought. "80 percent of the trees in our forests are damaged and we saw 20 times as many spruce trees die in 2020 than in the previous ten years," said Messner.
And all this damage comes at a cost: "80 billion euros alone since 2018 and the economic follow-up costs up to the middle of the century are estimated at several 100 billion euros, depending on the severity of the climate crisis," said Lemke. Climate adaptation and prevention, on the other hand, are cheaper than repairing the damage. It is therefore important that society as a whole understands that climate adaptation is just as necessary and good as climate protection.
Climate adaptation is about being better prepared for or protected against changes such as droughts or flooding. For example, heat protection plans can be developed for hospitals or cities can be built in such a way that they store more rainwater.
The monitoring report on the "German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change" reports on climate impacts and adaptation. It is published every four years.
Steffi Lemke, the Environment Minister, highlighted that Germany is losing 2.5 cubic kilometers of water annually due to the climate crisis, which is exerting significant strain on the ecosystems and potentially impacting future drinking water supplies. She also mentioned that if this trend continues for 20 years, it would amount to the volume of water in Lake Constance today.
The climate crisis-related water loss has severe consequences for agriculture in Germany. According to Dirk Messner, UBA President, the loss of water impacts agriculture economically, reducing yields, as shown by the 15% lower winter wheat yields in the hot summer of 2018 compared to a normal year.
Source: www.dpa.com
