Arid conditions in Switzerland – forge ahead with transformation!
Those who like to ride their bike along forest and field paths in the Swiss Midlands have been sitting pretty for the past few years: Snow rarely falls these days in the lowlands. And it has become apparent over the past few weeks how it is now possible to be out and about on your bike the whole winter through. In fact, the tracks and trails are so dry at the moment that gravel bikes disappear in huge clouds of dust.
Historically unique lack of snow
Then it finally rained again during week 8/23. But, because the entire winter was characterised by a historically unique lack of snow, this had little impact on the current dryness. By visiting Meteo Swiss, you will see that the situation is most critical in the east. That the entire winter has been too warm is obvious. "Nationwide, less precipitation fell in the last twelve months than the 1991-2020 norm over the same period. In some regions, a quarter and up to a half of the average amount of precipitation for the months from March-February is missing," writes the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology. It continues: "The last twelve months in Geneva have been the driest since measurements began. And the same applies to the inner-alpine regions of Engelberg and Davos. The past twelve months were the second driest ever measured at the Zurich/Fluntern monitoring station. Over the same twelve months, Lugano measured its 4th driest period in the past 159 years".
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Another dry summer?
Just a few years ago, many people flatly denied the existence of climate change; most have now realised that change is indeed happening. They do not believe, however, that human dependence on fossil fuel is responsible. "Climate change has always existed," people like to say, "we will adapt to it." And yes, of course we will adapt to it, but the problem comes when Spain's weather suddenly descends over Switzerland. Spain – an important supplier of food to Northern Europe – will, sooner or later, become a desert. And the lack of moisture will also have consequences for us because trees, which are extremely important CO2 sinkers, are unable to cope well with drought.
What happens next? Well, meteorology steers clear of forecasts that are valid for more than a month. However, because the air in general has become warmer and warm air can absorb more moisture without precipitating, the consequences must be clear to everybody. It would not be surprising if, following 2018, 2020 and 2022, 2023 would be another hot and far too dry summer. This is a problem that past climate models seem to have underestimated: When the ground is too dry and no more water can evaporate from it, the temperature rises even more.
Regenerative agriculture could solve acute problems
We at Soil to Soul are not alarmists, and we don't want to make life miserable with gloomy predictions. It is probably also not possible to prove that the current arid conditions are directly related to climate change – perhaps these are just exceptional times. It is for certain, however, that the drought has come at a bad time for us (and the farmers in Northern Italy, for example). Because climate change continues to march on – and we have done little to date to stop it – it is all the more important for us all to be aware that we can do something against the consequences of global warming by changing our consumer behavior. And we can do this by buying our food from producers who rely on regenerative agriculture. Soils cultivated in this way are much better able to cope with lower moisture levels, because the topsoil is never left exposed to the wind or sun. Or because, for example, farmers incorporate plant charcoal into their soils, which can bind water and nutrients. You will have the opportunity once again this autumn to meet producers who have taken this state of affairs to heart. Until then, we hope for enough rain to render the above text a purely mental exercise. Let's go!