For ARD weather expert Sven Plöger, the disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate is the last warning shot.
The expert speaks plain language when it comes to climate protection.
Munich - That's still the weather - and bad weather with high tide has always existed.
That was the argument against climate change for a long time.
However, the floods and the drought plagues are increasing worldwide.
“Climate is average weather” - this is how Sven Plöger, who is responsible for weather and climate at ARD, puts it.
His conclusion in the
tz
interview: Those who still torpedo climate protection measures today are sinning against all future generations.
The disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate is the last warning shot - and it should be the starting shot for a new way of thinking about climate protection, says Plöger.
Over 100 dead in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, billions in damages.
Sven Plöger (54), who has been a weatherman on ARD for many years, speaks clear words.
Mr. Plöger, flood drama in our country, heat deaths in Canada and the USA - a snapshot or more?
Sven Plöger
: The measured values show that both dryness and wetness have become more extreme here.
Politicians always say that climate protection must be economically compatible.
Plöger
: Of course it has to. But if the way we do business destroys the environment, we have gained nothing.
On the contrary, the prosperity will be cashed in for the foreseeable future.
There is no point in glossing over the world in the hope that the cup will pass us by by doing nothing.
Climate change is simply unemotional physics, and the planet doesn't care whether we are there or not.
What would have to happen in Germany to improve the climate balance?
Loiter
: We have to create fundamentally different framework conditions and ensure that those who keep the environment clean benefit financially and not those who pollute it. Climate change has become tangible. Politicians have to find answers. We have to create the energy transition, promote solar and wind energy. I understand anyone who says that wind turbines don't make the landscape more beautiful. But the overhead lines are not nice either, we just got used to them. On the subject of mobility: Flights from Munich to Hamburg for 29 euros are irresponsible if we are serious about climate protection. Too much space is sealed and parked in our cities. I don't think it's enough just to replace the drive in our cars with a battery or fuel cell. We have to dareTo develop concepts in which we question how much individual traffic is possible and necessary. It will all cost a lot of money, but it will pay off.
Can we save the climate?
We are part of a cake, according to weather expert Plöger
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Flood-Rhein-Erft-Kreis: In Erftstadt-Blessem the houses have been massively eroded, some collapsed, the Cologne district government tweeted on July 16, 2021.
© Twitter District Government Cologne / AFP
CO2 emissions - Germany ranks 6th
Even politicians who are open to climate protection like to say: Little Germany alone cannot do anything anyway.
Plöger
: You hear that often. The entire emission is distributed over 195 countries, although comparing countries does not necessarily make sense. It is logical that China emits more than Luxembourg. It is more important to recognize that we are in sixth place in Germany for current CO2 emissions. If we now say that we are irrelevant, then the 189 states that are behind us can certainly say that too! We Germans emit 8.8 tons of CO2 per capita per year. We are currently at 4.8 tons worldwide. But only if all people do not emit more than two tons on average, the two-degree target can be met. We are part of the cake like everyone else. Understanding that shouldn't be so difficult.
Her latest book is entitled "Dress warmly, it gets hot".
That reveals humor and optimism.
How do you keep it?
Plöger
: Where would that lead if you gave up on him?
Imagine if people did that in the bombed cities at the end of World War II!
First, climate research clearly says that the goal is achievable.
To do this, we don't just have to say A, we also have to do A.
What we're doing right now is say A and do B.
And then we wonder why A doesn't work.
Second, insight is increasing.
The EU is moving, the US is moving, China at least feels under pressure.
So keeping hope is not naive, but important.
Because to say to the youth: See how you get along! Would be deeply unfair and an indictment for us.
Why the jet stream intensifies extreme weather
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Jetstream blows at a height of eight to twelve kilometers above the middle latitudes around the world and reaches top speeds of 500 kilometers per hour.
© Science Photo Library / imago
The weather in NRW also has to do with the jet stream.
Sven Plöger explains why: “The North Pole heats up excessively, the temperature differences between the equator and the pole decrease.
Large differences are compensated for by wind at great heights - this is the jet stream.
It ensures that highs and lows move quickly.
If the temperature difference decreases, the jet stream becomes weaker.
This means that lows stay longer over an area - it rains more and longer.
Interview: R. Ogiermann * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
Storm at the weekend: Tief Bernd is now moving to Bavaria
A heavy rain event is expected on the edge of the Alps.
From Saturday the German Weather Service (DWD) warns of very, very much precipitation.
Historically high water levels can occur, reports
Merkur.de
.
Level 3 floods are expected in Passau.
