March 2022 was one of the driest ever and more sunny than any other March before, at least since this data has been collected. Fred Hattermann from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research talks about why the year is starting drier and drier due to the climate crisis, what that means for soil and plants if there is no rain, what the effects of the falling groundwater level are and how countermeasures can be taken in view of the drought in Germany podcast.
The good news: There will be no shortage of drinking water in Germany in the foreseeable future. But water will be lacking in many other places in the future, with unpleasant consequences. For agriculture, industry and above all for nature.
In Berlin it rained just one liter of water on one square meter of ground last month. Stefan Jacobs explains why the water quality in the capital is likely to deteriorate in the foreseeable future and why the city needs to change course if it wants to preserve its parks and over 400,000 street trees.
And in view of the attempts to become independent of Russian gas explained Christian Schaudwet from the Tagesspiegel Background energy and climate, why Germany now wants to import shale gas from the USA. Because that is gained through so-called fracking, and that is actually even forbidden in Germany and large parts of Europe.
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You can also listen to other episodes of the indicator directly here:
episode 35 with Felix Creutzig, physicist and lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
episode 34 with Kai Niebert, DNR President and sustainability researcher
episode 33 with Simone Peter, President of the Federal Association of Renewable Energies
episode 32 with energy economist Andreas Loechel
episode 31 with ocean explorer Felix Mark
episode 30 with energy expert Stefan Ramesohl
episode 29 with France’s most famous climate activist Camille Etienne
episode 28 with social scientist and IPCC lead author Oliver Geden
episode 27 with author Toralf Staud and social psychologist Pia Lamberty
episode 26 with the “wise man” Veronika Grimm
episode 25 with climate physicist Wolfgang Lucht
episode 24 with BUND traffic expert Jens Hilgenberg
episode 23 with government adviser Kira Vinke
episode 22 with the biologist Harald Uphoff
episode 21 with civil engineer Lamia Messari-Becker
episode 20 with WWF climate chief Viviane Raddatz
episode 19 with energy economist Andreas Loechel
episode 18 with energy researcher Volker Quaschning
episode 17 with GermanZero Managing Director Julian Zuber
episode 16 with China researcher Nis Grünberg
episode 15 with Pauline Brünger, speaker of Fridays for Future
episode 14 with environmental doctor Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann and author Katja Trippel
episode 13 with Mareike Menneckemeyer from the Climate Council
episode 12 with polar researcher Markus Rex
episode 11 with energy expert Patrick Graichen
episode 10 with the forest expert Ulrich Schraml
episode 9 with meteorologist and climate researcher Mojib Latif
All indicator episodes can be found here.
