On Monday, the hail insurance company painted an alarming picture of the effects of climate change-related bizarre weather on the occasion of its annual balance sheet for 2024. “Austrian agriculture is freezing, burning and drowning at the same time,” it was said. National food security is at risk. The total damage in the agricultural sector in the following year amounted to 260 million euros.
Climate change has started a long time ago and poses major challenges for the sector. “Frost, hail, storms, drought and floods caused problems for local agriculture last year,” lamented Hail Insurance boss Kurt Weinberger.
Millions of dollars in freeze damage
The late frost alone caused damage of 60 million euros. Droughts were responsible for losses of 150 million euros and there was also hail, storm and flood damage amounting to 50 million euros.
Animal production is facing epidemics
“Cost-intensive weather extremes – caused by human-induced climate change – continue to increase in frequency and intensity,” the report said. “This year’s recurring frost damage in spring and catastrophic flood damage in autumn show that natural disasters do not only affect the local agricultural sector in summer.” Animal production is also confronted with animal diseases such as bluetongue and bird flu.
Food security threatened by climate change
Global warming threatens the agricultural sector because 80 percent of yields depend on the weather. National food security is therefore threatened by crop failures. The situation is made worse “by negligent construction work”, endangering food security. The construction also leads to a significant increase in flood damage because concrete floors do not retain water. In the new year, an ecological economic policy must be ensured, Weinberger said. “We see soil and climate protection as an opportunity for the economy, for nature and for future generations.”
“Hottest year”
Large parts of 2024 were characterized by exceptionally warm and hot temperatures. “In summary, this year has displaced the warmest year yet, 2023, from the top spot. Another record pointing to man-made global warming,” the hail insurance company wrote. There have been a few record months in the local 258-year history of measurements.
While thirteen warm days were measured in the federal capital in the 1980s, this year in Vienna there were 52 such days with temperatures above 30 degrees. Many people tried to cool down at night to no avail. In the autumn the big rain came, causing floods in northeastern Austria and fatalities.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
