Forest dieback, floods and droughts - climate change: what else is in store for us?

science talk with

Dr Friedhart Knolle

Climate crisis in the Harz Mountains.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time - this is unanimously confirmed by researchers and experts. But what does this mean in concrete terms for the Harz Mountains?

Dr Friedhart Knolle takes a detailed look at the facts, background and future prospects of this issue, especially in the Harz Mountains and Lower Saxony.

Dr Friedhart Knolle takes a detailed look at the facts, background and future prospects of this topic, especially in the Harz Mountains and Lower Saxony.

Acute climate crisis.

It was pointed out years ago that the number of tropical days in the Harz Mountains, i.e. days with temperatures above 30°C, is increasing. 2003 marked a turning point when the Brocken reached a record temperature of 28.2°C - a historic high since records began. Three consecutive days with temperatures above 25°C on the Brocken were unprecedented. The German Weather Service declared 2003 a "super year". In 2006, this record temperature was surpassed again, and July of the same year was the hottest ever recorded in the Harz Mountains.

Since then, the extremes have continued: new temperature records, more frequent flooding, increased bark beetle activity, falling groundwater levels in the Harz foreland and a critical situation at the Harz reservoirs. It is obvious that the warnings of climate researchers were not taken seriously enough. Nowadays, many researchers no longer speak of climate change, but of an acute climate crisis.

Water shortages and increasing flooding are just some of the already tangible consequences of this crisis that we are facing and that will become even more acute in the future.

Dr Friedhart Knolle will present his findings and analyses in the science talk. In this talk, he will guide the audience through the complex interrelationships of climate change in the Harz Mountains and show how we can meet this challenge together. The talk is aimed at interested parties from science, politics, business and the general public who would like to get involved in protecting the Harz Mountains and tackling the climate crisis.

The science talk is a cooperation with Volkswagen and will take place

  • on Thursday, 9 May 2024
  • at 18:30
  • in the phaeno Science Theatre, admission is free

Dr Friedhart Knolle.

Dr Friedhart Knolle, geologist and conservationist, spokesman for the Scientific Advisory Board of BUND Lower Saxony, Chairman of the Society for the Promotion of the Harz National Park and former spokesman for the Harz National Park Authority.

The picture shows Dr Friedhart Knolle, speaker at the Science Talk at phaeno Wolfsburg on the subject of forest dieback in the Harz Mountains.