What is the matter? A storm warning after the other. At the beginning of February, Petra swept the first over us, then the turbulent Sabine, followed by the slightly more moderate Tomris. Always, we were warned, we are not outside, because trees fall over, the roof tiles loose or other non-secured items could be a wild whirl through the air. "We had the windiest February since the start of the automatic measurements in front of nearly 40 years," says Stephan Bader from Meteo Schweiz. When hurricane Sabine had were in the Summit, even top speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour are given.

The 60-year-old geographer and climatologist in Switzerland is a sought-after expert. Especially when it comes to give you a quick Overview of the current Situation and assess whether there has been such an extreme event at some time. The storm Lothar in 1999 or Burglind 2018 were still much stronger. However, the frequency of this year's storms is unparalleled in the market. At the same time it was in the past three months in Switzerland also much too warm – the warmest Winter since measurements began more than 150 years ago.

In the case of the Meteo Switzerland has Bader been in operation since January 1991. "Thirty years of experience," he says with a laugh. Or an entire climate period – a period of time, the world meteorological organization for average values. Before this time, Bader was an assistant on the retreat of the Swiss glaciers. The glacier shrinkage is, for him, to date, the most impressive evidence for the directly observed climate warming. Alone in the Swiss Alps, a cubic kilometer of ice cream is after a hot summer, now lost. "For the just over 50 cubic kilometers of ice, this development is dramatic," he says. A today's child I'll get to see at the time of his Retirement is hardly the glacier with us.

rates for cyclones

Bader's office is on the fifth floor of the surgical centre at Zurich airport, the same tract at the entrance to a high security. At our Meeting, he shows his job where he can land all the planes and start looks. "The aviation sector is the largest customer of Meteo Switzerland," he explains. Both the airport and the airlines were instructed to immediately get the updated weather forecasts. As a climatologist Bader is also regularly called Mission Supporter, the support from the ground, the pilots in the air in case of weather hazards such as hurricanes.

How strong the aviation now contributes to the greenhouse effect? "From a Global perspective, surprisingly, not so much," says Bader. According to the Federal office for civil aviation global air traffic has a share of only 2 to 2.5 percent of the Total CO2 emissions. However, all international flights from Switzerland make up approximately 26 percent of CO2 emissions, which are emitted by the Switzerland-fueled propellants. Since the Corona-crisis, things have changed at the airport, however. All the big machines for flights to China had been withdrawn from the market, he says. But with security this is only a temporary phenomenon, since it is from an economic and a socio-political point of view, no long-term solution.

Since the Corona-crisis, many aircraft on the ground will remain in Zurich. Photo: Urs Jaudas

And Bader to yourself? He travels with the plane? "With my wife and our three children, I've flown for 20 years, never," he says. They had always made in the Switzerland as a holiday, or had travelled by train abroad. Since 2013, he got a summer job in the Arctic, in which he'll walk for around two weeks with a tour group as a ice and climate expert. In his opinion there is no better place than to tell between the towering icebergs or kilometre-wide glacier fronts on the incredibly exciting climate evolution of the earth.

When he talks about the high North, he beams again and again in our conversation. Just amazing what you can find there everything. In his excursions he had wandered over 225 million years old sea floors with fossil polymerized shells, snails or plants. With a little luck you can also observe polar bears on a 300-million-year-old desert soils. And last summer he was pushed but, in fact, to fossilized dinosaur tracks, in the immediate vicinity of Arctic glaciers.

As the climate scientists Bader created in contrast to the meteorologists don't make predictions. "We are for the analysis after that is responsible," he says. Half of his work, he used to write reports for insurance companies, the police or the Prosecutor's office. In doing so, he has to find out, what prevailed for the weather on the particular day in the past and what had an influence on the Events. So a second-hand dealer turned out his cars all extra during the storm and filmed the alleged hailstones destroyed the bodies. "Insurance fraud," emphasizes Bader. It was only sleet, was slapped on the plate.

Froze to death in wheel Bay

His worst case was ten years ago. At the time, was found to be below the approach path of the airport of Zurich, in a forest, a frozen corpse. At the request of the public Prosecutor reconstructed Bader, the then weather conditions. This gave a further indication that it could not be murder or a homicide.

As it turned out later, it was very probably an African refugee who wanted to travel as a stowaway in the landing gear compartment of an aircraft in Switzerland. In the case of the icy temperatures, he froze to death, however, and later fell during the Extension of the wheels down. This tragic death had shaken him at the time and taken with you, says Bader. The man was losgereist in the hope of a better world.

2-degree climate target moves further away

in Principle, it is true Bader's thoughtful when he looks at possible scenarios for the future of our planet – for example, that we would soon have to feed ten billion people. Or that he watches every Morning, how many planes, in the meantime, at six o'clock in countless Styrofoam boxes with food in Switzerland. There is a need for a radical rethinking, he says, otherwise you could say goodbye to in terms of climate change soon, of the classical 2-degree target.

Nevertheless, he is a very cheerful person, the not just the nature in the Arctic and fascinated us, but also the technology. Some time ago he jumped up on the Märklin train, you can buy in the Brockenhaus old models, fix them, and bring them with a lot of dedication to the Drive. "These small wonders are as old as I am," says Stephan Bader. The fit good.

Created: 06.03.2020, 21:25 PM