Climate balance for Upper Austria

Hottest summer on record in Linz and Freistadt

The thermometer climbed to record levels in parts of Upper Austria this summer.

(Bild: APA/Barbara Gindl)

Tropical nights, storms in the south, drought in the central region and drought in the Mühlviertel - the results of the summer in Upper Austria are "worrying" for Environment Councillor Stefan Kaineder (Greens). In Linz and Freistadt, it was the warmest in recorded history.

However, the absolute highest temperature of the year was measured in the south of the country, in Weyer: On June 29, the thermometer there showed 35.6 degrees. Together with Linz, Weyer leads the way in terms of daily maximums in Upper Austria (up to and including August 28) with 29 days over 30 degrees each.

Too warm from mid-June
The annual curve of average daily temperatures for Linz shows that it was more or less consistently too warm from mid-June onwards. This value is the result of the very warm nights, with 15 so-called tropical nights with a minimum temperature of over 20 degrees being recorded in the provincial capital.

From mid-July, there was also no rainfall for a month. Midsummer was also far too dry in the Mühlviertel, where farmers have been struggling with the drought and there has been a lack of abundant rain for weeks.

Rain in the south
The situation in the south of the province is completely different, according to meteorologist Alexander Ohms from Geosphere Austria. Even though Upper Austria has been spared major storms in contrast to other federal states, it has rained more than normal in the Inner Salzkammergut, for example.

"Renaturation instead of concreting"
The climate records show that there is not much time left to "avert the climate catastrophe", concluded Kaineder. We also need to "step up our game" when it comes to adapting to climate change. Above all, "much more attention" needs to be paid to health protection through natural cooling of trees and greening of cities. This also applies to protection against increasingly intense storms and flooding. "Renaturation instead of concreting" is therefore the only way forward.