The fires in southeast Europe are devastating.
In Greece it is the worst since 2007. In a dramatic address to the nation, Prime Minister Mitsotakis, a man who is not prone to hysteria, spoke of an unprecedented situation: heat and drought have turned the country into a powder keg.
It is no different in Turkey.
Are these the harbingers of an apocalypse that researchers believe will be inevitable if climate change continues as before?
In any case, in the Mediterranean region, the periods of extreme heat are getting longer. What that means for the "normal" lives of millions of people, regardless of the fires, is gradually becoming apparent. The overload of the power grid because air conditioning systems are running at full speed is just one detail. But it gives a foretaste of what may be in store for us.
It is evident that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity. More than fifty degrees Celsius was recently measured in western Canada. The “forest fire season” started earlier in California, and ever larger areas are being devastated. And we in Germany are still stunned by the destruction caused by the flood and the many victims. It will cost a tremendous amount of money to adapt to new weather conditions and climate change and to take precautions. Establishing this has nothing to do with exaggeration.