Future for Germany's climate

     

What are the future scenarios for Germany regarding their climate and situation??


Air Temperature increase:
     Temperatures are expected to increase by 0.5-1.5 degrees Celsius within the year period 2021-2050.  This is based off of the past data from 1961-1990.
     According to several other climate scenarios the long-term annual temperature in Germany is projected to rise by 1.6-3.8 degrees Celsius by the year 2080.
     The southwest and some of the eastern  regions have many scenarios pointing to strong warming conditions.
     According to climatechangepost.com, some scenarios suggest that the number of summer days could double by the end of the century, and the number of hot days could even be projected to triple.

Precipitation scenarios for the future:
     Several lower mountain ranges and river valleys in Southern Germany are subject to changes in mean and extreme precipitation where in the winter the study area became moister (5-10%).
     In the summer there are slight decreases of precipitation in Central Europe for the near future.
     In regards to the long term (end of the 21st century) the several climate scenarios show very little changes that mostly lie below 10% until 2080.


     Germany has been trying to lead the retreat from fossil fuels since the early 1990's.  Germany is pushing away from the nuclear power plants and aiming towards more of a renewable energy society, in which they actually are able to resell all their excess energy/utilities to the government.
     Germany actually plans to shut all its reactors by the year 2022 in an effort to revert the energy consumption from fossil fuels and nuclear power to wind, solar, and hydro powered.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/climate-change/germany-renewable-energy-revolution-text
This picture shows a newly built, never been used, nuclear reactor in Kalkar, Germany.    

     The picture above shows a new nuclear reactor plant transformed into an entertainment ride for visitors.  With the recent outburst from Chernobyl, the Germans decided to steer away from this sort of power and energy.  And instead they built an attraction for their visitors and tourists as an amusement park ride.

    Another aspect of the economy that Germany is trying to alter in an effort to halt climate change is within their car industry.  Companies like Volkswagen, Daimler, Porsche, and BMW all have or will soon launch their own versions of electric cars.  And some of the car companies have announced an end to the diesel rush.

http://inhabitat.com/all-new-cars-in-germany-must-be-emissions-free-after-2030/
This image shows Germany's efforts to push electric vehicles popularity

     A stand that Germany has recently started to take to cut back on emissions produced on its roadways, declares that all new cars registered in the country will have to meet a zero-emissions requirement by 2030.
 

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/can-the-world-run-on-renewable-energy/
A cleaner world for a cleaner life!   

  This rule has been part of Germany's broader goal to slash their carbon dioxide emissions up to 95% by 2050.
















     With Germany leading the push for alternatives to fossil fuel energy, they are constantly breaking grounds for new energy efficient technologies.  They stand as a leader among the world powers in climate change efforts and prevention.  Germany, a country which had to rebuild itself after WWII, also acts as a role model for up and coming nations who are not exactly in line with the world powers when discussing the climate change efforts and possibilities.

German Flag and Coat of Arms

Works Cited

• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/climate-change/germany-renewable-energy-revolution-text
• http://www.climatechangepost.com/germany/climate-change/
• https://www.carbonbrief.org/timeline-past-present-future-germany-energiewende

Alternative Energy Germany

Energiewende!!
      ("Energy Transition!!")

Germany is currently involved in a government ran program called "Energiewende".
This program is based off of the idea that Germany can reduce it's greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% and hit a target of a 60% share for renewable energy sources by the year 2050.
      -This program will be mainly based off of wind and solar energy captured around the country.
      - A success from Energiewende so far is that renewable sources account for nearly 1/3rd of                    electricity consumed in Germany in 2015.

http://euanmearns.com/an-update-on-the-energiewende/
Energiewende

After recent accidents among Nuclear Reactors and facilities, Germany has decided to take the steps and measures to actually shut down and halt the processes of Nuclear Energy; although not every plant has been ordered to halt processes.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/climate-change/germany-renewable-energy-revolution-text
Wind Turbines surrounding coal-fired power plant near Garzweiler in western Germany

Germany is working on slashing renewable energy subsidies and replacing them with an auction/quota system.

https://thinkprogress.org/germany-sets-new-record-generating-74-percent-of-power-needs-from-renewable-energy-6ca91febc44e#.w7bvb4fu6
This chart shows the increase in Germany's renewable electricity production from the years 1990-2013.

Germany has really taken advantage of their solar energy consumption using photovoltaic power plants.
Germany has also incorporated the use of wind energy as a source of renewable energy, "clean energy", through the wind turbines which Germany has sprawled out over their many fields and flat landscapes in the Western territories.
This past May 15, 2016, Germany's solar and wind power peaked allowing renewable's to supply 45.5 gigawatts as demand was 45.8 gigawatts, according to provisional data by Agora Energiewende.

This chart shows Germany's peak power supply by the hour, May 15-May16 2016
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/germany-just-got-almost-all-of-its-power-from-renewable-energy

 
On the otherside...
      Public opposition has posed the only delay; there has been delays to the construction of the power lines needed to distribute Germany's renewable's efficiently, and also there has been a lack of investment in the renewable's industry lowering the levels insufficiently to build enough new capacity to meet Germany's 2020 emissions reduction target.
                                    





Works Cited:

• https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/green-energy-bust-in-germany
• https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601514/germany-runs-up-against-the-limits-of-renewables/
• http://www.sciencealert.com/last-sunday-95-percent-of-germany-s-energy-was-provided-by-renewables
• http://energytransition.de/2016/05/germany-nearly-reached-100-percent-renewable-power-on-sunday/
• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/climate-change/germany-renewable-energy-revolution-text
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/germany-just-got-almost-all-of-its-power-from-renewable-energy
• http://euanmearns.com/an-update-on-the-energiewende/

Germany in depth

Germany has a climate now a days which is mainly varied in the sense of changes with it's temperature lows and highs.  Germany's temperature varies as you travel across the country west to east.  In the west you will notice temperatures around freezing meanwhile when you travel towards the east of Germany you will experience more well below freezing conditions.  Germany also goes through a continental type of weather pattern throughout the year.  This means that the climate and weather conditions tend to vary year to year, cold and rainy springs could turn into warm and sunny springs the following year.  The main factor which plays a role in Germany's average snowfall and average temperatures is actually the altitude of the land rather than by the various climatic regions affects other regions of the world.

https://www.emaze.com/@AFZIFCWQ/GERMANY
The map shows the climate type per region in Germany

Germany's Northern regions and Southern Bavaria region, apart from the coastal regions, experiences a relatively constant climate.  From Leipzig and Dresden to Stuttgart, warmer summers are often accompanied with frequent rainshowers.  Winters are typically cold in these areas.  Northwestern and coastal Germany have maritime climate conditions which are caused by warm westerly winds from the North Sea. Germany's presence in the alpine regions have given the southern region and some of central Germany a "mountain climate", which means that the temperatures will be lower with the higher altitudes and greater precipitation caused by the air becoming moisture-laden as it lifts over higher terrain.


This chart helps to show the average change in surface temperatures and average precipitation throughout the world starting in 1986 and the final model portraying forecasts of whats to come ending in 2100.  By looking at this model you can see that Germany's temperatures have generally rose by a substantial amount meanwhile the average precipitation increase at a less drastic rate.


This image above shows how drastic the glacial coverage was during the Pleistocene Epoch throughout Europe during the Quaternary Period.  This map shows that the white color represents the ice sheet extension south in Europe and you can see how almost all of Germany was covered at one point.
The German and European regions went under speculation by many geologists when determining the actuality of ice age events throughout past history.  The geologists soon discovered that in this region there were actually multiple ice ages not just one as some data sets portray.  These periods of glaciation followed one another separated by warm periods in the climate.  The evidence which supported multiple ice ages during the period known as the "Pleistocene" epoch included the ribbons of end-moraines which were left by the glacial sheets, and also the deposits of wind-blown glacial dust, known as "loess".

German Climate

Germany

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/germany/
Germany - map of central Europe

I have chosen to explore the central northern European country of Germany when looking into anthropomorphic climate change on a specific region.
Germany is a country which holds roughly 80,996,685 people as of 2014, and has been declining in its population by -0.18% each year.  Germany's largest city, and also it's capital, Berlin holds 3,460,000 people.

http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/germany.htm
German Flag

Germany is comprised of the North German Plain, the Central German Uplands, and the Southern German Highlands.
Germany has had the influence of countries such as Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Poland to help in shaping their cultural ways.
The German economy is the largest in the continent and is also the fifth largest in the world, making it a power house and central figure amongst the leading nations.

Culturally, Germans place a high priority on structure, privacy and punctuality in their daily lives. As said by German locals when discussing their values on thriftiness and hard work, there is a great emphasis on making sure that "the trains run on time." Time is managed carefully, and calendars, schedules and agendas must be respected at a high manor.

Similarly to the rest of the Earth, Germany has been affected by the global rising temperatures. The number of days in Germany, reaching temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, has increased from three days to eight days per year.

In general, Germany's climate is moderate and generally has no elongated periods of cold or hot weather.  Northwestern and coastal Germany have a maritime influenced climate.  This climate region of Germany is characterized by warm summers and mild cloudy winters.  And as you go farther inland Germany the climate is more continental.  This inland region of Germany is recognized by their greater seasonal variations in temperature, with warmer summers and colder winters.

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?3&WMO=10637&INFO=0&PAG=0&LEVEL=160
This chart shows the average max. and min. temperatures according to the months and "sunny hours"
Data recorded at Frankfurt Airport

And then as you go more to the southern region of Germany you hit the Alpine mountain regions, composed of a more mountain climate condition.  This is composed mainly by lower temperatures because of the higher altitudes and greater precipitation cuased by air becoming moisture-laden as it lifts over higher terrain. 

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city
This chart shows the relationship between the months and the precipitation amount on average
Data recorded at Frankfurt Airport