Annual balance 2024 – Austria’s agriculture is freezing, burning and drowning at the same time

This year has shown again: climate change has long since arrived and brings with it major challenges for the agricultural sector. At the turn of the year, Austrian hail insurance is taking stock of the damage in 2024 in the agricultural sector, which is so important for the economy. “Frost, Hail, storm, drought and flood caused problems for local agriculture last year. The consequence is total damage to Austrian agriculture 260 million euros“, of which 60 million euros were due to the late frost at the end of April, 150 million euros due to the risk of drought and 50 million euros due to hail, storms and floods,” said Dr. Kurt WeinbergerChairman of the Board of the Austrian Hagelversicherung. The dramatic thing: Cost-intensive weather extremes – caused by man-made climate change – continue to increase in frequency and intensity. The recurring frost damage in spring and this year’s catastrophic flood damage in autumn show that natural disasters do not only affect the local agricultural sector in summer. But not only crop production is damaged, animal production is also confronted with animal diseases, such as bluetongue and avian influenza.

Year 2024: Records continue and lead to the hottest year in measurement history

The Winter was mostly warmer than average, with only a few cold spells, especially in January. February set a record and was the warmest since measurements began. Also that one Spring was the warmest in the 258-year history of measurements. March and the first half of April were particularly notable for their extreme warmth, with the earliest “30 degree day” on April 7th in Bruck an der Mur. The unusual warmth in February and March accelerated plant development significantly. For example, the apricot bloom was the earliest on record, about four weeks ahead of the 1961-1990 average. The apple blossom was also earlier than it has been since 1946. These early flowering phases, in combination with a cold phase in the second half of April, led to late frost damage, which particularly affected fruit crops and, in some cases, viticulture. The Sommer brought unusual heat. August was the warmest in Austrian measurement history. This is also noticeable in the number of hot days (days with more than 30 degrees Celsius): While 13 hot days were measured at the Vienna location in the 1980s, there were 13 hot days this year 52 Conversation – more than ever before in the history of measurements! Also that one Herbst was clearly too warm, with mostly very mild and only a few cold phases, but then with enormous amounts of rain. For example, a sad rainfall record of 447 millimeters was achieved in St. Pölten (the previous September rainfall record in St. Pölten was 202 millimeters in 1937). That summed it up this year that so far hottest year Displaced from the top position in 2023. Another record that points to man-made global warming.

The fight against the climate and land consumption crisis is about livelihoods

If we don’t all pull together in the fight against climate change, a summer like this one will be one of the cooler summers in a few decades. While summer tourism benefits from the heat in certain areas, local agriculture with its open-air workshops faces enormous challenges due to dry fields, frost-damaged fruit and wine crops or fields damaged by hail and flooded. Global warming threatens the agricultural sector because 80 percent of yields depend on the weather. National food security is therefore at risk due to crop failures. The situation is also made worse by the fact that we continue to cover our land with concrete through negligent construction, thereby endangering food security. However, the construction also leads to a significant increase in flood damage because concreted ground cannot store water. “It’s not climate protection that’s a danger, it’s that man-made Climate change and home-grown soil consumption. These undesirable developments take away our children’s future. Therefore, I would like to see an ecological economic policy for the new year. We see soil and climate protection as an opportunity for the economy, for nature and for future generations,” concluded Weinberger.