Alpine experts warn: – “Mass of debris is driving people out of the valleys”

A few hours ago, a mudslide formed without warning in the Belianske Mountains in the High Tatras in Slovakia, thundering through the valley. These were caused by the most violent storms – on the route that is especially popular with hikers. On their relentless path, the forces of nature swept away, among other things, a hut in which several mountaineers had sought refuge from the floods from the sky. Two mountaineers were thrown to death and others were seriously injured.

Unfortunately, this tragedy is not an isolated one. On the contrary: according to meteorologists, nature is taking revenge more often, more violently and more destructively because of climate change. The root of the (weather) evil lies in the world’s oceans, which have been warming steadily for years. Their evaporation energy saturates the atmosphere with enormous amounts of moisture, which then spreads like an iron fist not only over the Alps.

Three degrees warmer and it’s bursting
Every summer, the consequences are hitting harder and harder, especially for the inhabitants of the mountain valleys of the homeland. “It is therefore not impossible that we will have to give up individual valley areas in the future,” warned Flavio Anselmetti, the respected director of the institute and professor of Quaternary geology and paleoclimatology at the University of Bern, in view of the latest catastrophe in his research. Swiss homeland.

The Swiss expert is not alone in this clear warning. Researcher Reinhard Steurer, professor of climate policy at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, makes a similar statement. “If we have three degrees of warming by the end of the century instead of 1.5, these events will not only double, but also increase exponentially!” Gerhard Heilingbrunner therefore draws the conclusion – like other experts – that we will lose living space in some of our mountain regions. Also because the repeated reconstruction of destroyed settlements will simply no longer be economically viable.

Interview: “The situation is becoming increasingly dramatic”
“Crown”: Professor Fritz Macher, you are one of the most geologically experienced mountaineers in Austria. How do you see the situation?

Maker: As president of the most traditional branch of the Vienna Alpine Club, Austria, I am there almost day and night and see the storms becoming more and more violent and dramatic.

How and where exactly?
More and more regions are affected. And what starts moving on the bright heights often arrives in the valleys within minutes, rock hard or soft as mud.

The reasons?
The storms have become more violent and frequent. And because of global warming, it is thawing faster and faster. The cement of the stones, the perma-ice, is lost. Everything can get going more easily and have devastating consequences.

The consequences?
I don’t want to paint the devil on the rock face: in the future it will become increasingly difficult to maintain farms, especially in remote settlements.

The latest generation now wants to massively disrupt air traffic
Just like the storms, the climate protests are also increasing. This summer, activists of the latest generation are now targeting families who will soon be flying with their children on a well-deserved holiday to Greece, Spain, etc., because their spokeswoman Marina Hagen-Canaval announces a huge disruption of international air traffic. The actions are said to take place worldwide in an unprecedented collaboration. Demonstrators want to invade airports in Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, but also in Canada from 27 July – in the middle of the main travel season.