“One of the world’s leading research centres in the field of environmental research” insists parts of flooded Germany are still in drought!
Even though northern Germany is struggling with one of the worst flooding episodes in a century, the country’s Helmholtz for Environmental research (UFZ) website continues to insist that parts of the region are suffering from drought.
Too dry!
According to its “Total Soil Column 1.8 meters” Drought Monitor chart, most of former East Germany is too dry:
Some parts, according to the Helmholtz UFZ, are even suffering extreme drought – like near Dresden. Chart source: UFZ.
Reality: Flood Alert Level 3
But the latest news from the Dresden Environmental Agency are that the city “is lifting the alert level 3 declared on December 26, 2023 at 7:30 pm for the Elbe river in Dresden today, Friday, December 29, 2023, with immediate effect.”
Although most of North Germany is reeling from weeks of heavy rains and flooding, the drought obsessed Helmholtz UFZ seems to see it all differently: much of the north is still gripped by drought!
The above animation shows the model simulated 1.8 meter depth drought extent for each month of 2023. Source: Helmholtz UFZ
To be fair, the 1.8 meter drought chart is based on computer simulations, and so the outputs might need some time to catch up to reality.
Climate propaganda
Amusingly, back around 3 years ago, just after Germany has experienced two dry summers, The Helmholtz put out this video, where they claimed that with the drought summers of 2018 and 2019, it meant “we have felt the climate change in Germany very directly, one can say.”
One could easily argue that the Helmholtz site is a bit engaged in climate propaganda and unserious science.
Expect the music and colors at the UFZ to change very soon, that is if they want to retain any credibility.
That’s pretty basic logic in the newspeak :
War is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength
and Flood is Drought.
All the best and Happy New Year !
Same to you, Happy Hew Year!
Similar thing been going on in the UK
Autumn 2022 did have a dry period
That prompted alarmists to speculate that reservoirs might not fill enough over winter.
Southwest Water chose not to lift the hosepipe ban they had started in the Autumn dry period.
Well it turns out, there are many benefits for water companies to pretend there is a drought. Like it diverts attention and. gives them financial benefits as they can say they need to keep cash to prepare for anti-drought infrastructure etc
In March media ran headlines 2022 drought crisis could extend into 2023.
That prompted me to start monitoring SouthWest Water’s reservoir level graphs.
So I understood their idea was ridiculous. The UK is a very wet country and the general problem is getting rid of excess water.
Then quickly the rain came week after week, they started to delay issuing the reservoir updates.
Ultimately their water level targets had been way exceeded by the time they lifted the hosepipe ban.
The rain continued and by now they are surely need to divert water to the sea to stop reservoirs overflowing.