Environmental advocates call for action to safeguard the planet. - Visit of Scholz to flooded region represents shallow political action.
Lately, Southern Germany has experienced an extraordinary amount of rainfall, something that hasn't happened in more than fifty to a hundred years. This torrential downpour washed away cars, houses, fields, and roads, and left behind rivers of mud to wreck rooms and furniture. Huge swathes of the region are still submerged under water.
Since the pre-industrial era, the Earth's temperature has risen by about 1.1°C. In Germany, the temperature has increased even more, reaching 1.6°C. Consequently, various weather-related disasters, including heavy rains, storms, and floods, have become more common along with heat waves and droughts.
Ronja Hofmann, who represents the environmental group Fridays for Future in Bavaria, blasted the regional Prime Minister, Markus Söder (CSU). Hofmann commented: "It's absurd that Markus Söder, after promoting anti-climate policies for months and essentially turning climate protection into a joke, would ask people who've lost their homes to floods about their insurance." Now, as the European election looms, he plans to avoid the subject of climate change.
The physicist and climate activist Harald Lesch appealed for stringent climate protection measures. He said to dpa: "It's hard to fathom how long it will take for our politicians to grasp: Climate protection should not play second fiddle to party politics." They've had to witness floods inundating cellars for who knows how many times before they fully appreciate the importance of climate security.
