Heavy rainfall, storms and hail caused enormous damage in August – Mediterranean low-pressure system as the trigger
The past year 2023 was not only in Austria, but also worldwide the warmest year on record. This is confirmed by the climate status report, which is produced annually on behalf of the Climate and Energy Fund and the federal states. The report also documents large-scale and long-lasting heavy precipitation events in August across large parts of the country – particularly in the south. These caused enormous damage. The heavy rainfall and changed conditions (e.g. protective forests weakened by bark beetles) also show that climate change adaptation is necessary: flooding, high water, hillside run-off, landslides and debris flows, as well as high lake and groundwater levels, affected both public safety and agriculture, forestry and tourism. In addition to frequent and high levels of precipitation, the year was also characterised by extended periods of heat.
Heavy rainfall events will occur more frequently and with greater intensity in the future. Their impacts on nature and people are already clearly noticeable and require targeted adaptation measures – particularly in the areas of safety, agriculture and forestry, and tourism.
Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler: "Global warming is advancing rapidly. We can see it day by day now. Extreme weather events are increasing, causing enormous damage and presenting people with huge challenges. Climate change is directly affecting the health, wellbeing and quality of life of those involved. The latest climate status report once again underlines how urgently we need to commit to climate protection and climate change adaptation."
Astrid Eisenkopf, Deputy Governor of Burgenland and Chair of the Provincial Climate Protection Ministers' Conference: "The record warmth of 2023 makes it clear how urgently we need to act. Heavy rainfall, storms and hail are no longer exceptional events and are causing damage running into the millions. In the future, we need to pool our efforts in the fight against climate change even more effectively and counteract it with efficient measures. The aim is to keep the damage from climate change as low as possible. The state of Burgenland, together with its municipalities, has been engaging very intensively with the issue of climate change adaptation for years, as climate change affects many areas of local government responsibility: construction, local spatial planning, water supply and disposal, disaster protection and road maintenance. To save costs later on, it makes sense to invest in adaptation early – for the sustainable protection of our infrastructure and to safeguard essential public services. Adapting to this reality is crucial to protecting our communities and ecosystems."
Managing Director of the Climate and Energy Fund Bernd Vogl: "Heavy rainfall events are occurring ever more frequently in Austria due to climate change. While these cannot be prevented, the damage can be avoided or at least minimised. With our programmes 'KEM! – Climate and Energy Model Regions' and 'KLAR! – Climate Change Adaptation Model Regions', we are providing concrete support to municipalities in implementing climate protection and climate change adaptation measures. It is essential that we prepare together for such extreme weather events. The climate status report is also a helpful tool in this regard."
Herbert Formayer, scientific director of the report and Professor at the Institute of Meteorology and Climatology (BOKU): "The 2023 climate review shows that it is necessary to adapt as well as possible to the impacts that are already present and those expected in the future. Not only the extent of damage, but also the risk to the population is increasing. Last year, we unfortunately saw this far too often: people who found themselves in difficulty, who had to be evacuated or who were cut off from their drinking water supply. Adaptation measures and climate protection are an absolute must and urgently needed – not only for agriculture and forestry, which are severely affected by weather extremes, but also for the security of supply for the population."
The Climate Status Report 2023 – Results / Events in Brief
With an Austria-wide average temperature of +8.7 °C, last year is considered the warmest year on record to date. This corresponds to a deviation of +2.5 °C from the 1961–1990 climate mean.
In January, heavy snowfall dominated the weather, while in February storms and gusts of wind also caused trees to fall. In early April, late frost severely affected fruit trees.
During May, June and July, numerous thunderstorms with heavy rainfall, storm gusts and hail swept across the country. On 11 June, a rockfall occurred in the Silvretta group due to thawing permafrost; following the collapse of 1,000,000 m³ of rock, the southern summit of the Fluchthorn is now around 20 metres lower.
In early August, massive precipitation in southern Austria caused countless instances of damage in the form of flooding, high water, debris flows and landslides, as well as high lake and groundwater levels. In Carinthia, evacuations had to be carried out in 66 of 132 municipalities. In Styria, days of rainfall led to 280 landslides. Nearly 1,000 fire brigades with 16,000 firefighters were deployed more than 6,000 times. In total, overall damage of more than 100 million euros was recorded in the period from 3 to 6 August.
Lake Neusiedl benefited from the large amounts of rainfall, as this shallow steppe lake depends on sufficient precipitation.
The two following months, September and October, together entered the record books as the "warmest autumn" in meteorological history. Four heatwaves occurred throughout the year – two of which lasted an unusually long time, with up to 18 days (July) and 16 days (August) respectively.
Throughout the year, the sun shone for an average of 1,605 hours. Across Austria's surface area as a whole, annual precipitation totalled 1,275 mm – 21 per cent above average, meaning it was not only hot, but also very wet. In terms of precipitation totals, several new state records were set across the surface-area average, particularly in November and December.
The year ended with Storm "Zoltan", which caused damaged roofs, power outages and blocked roads and rail connections in almost all parts of the country.
About the Climate Status Report Austria
The annually published Climate Status Report Austria is produced on behalf of the Climate and Energy Fund and all nine federal states by the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA) in collaboration with BOKU University and GeoSphere Austria – Federal Institute for Geology, Geophysics, Climatology and Meteorology. It shows what adaptation options and courses of action are available to prevent or mitigate negative consequences in the most severely affected areas.
The full report is available for download here:
https://www.klimafonds.gv.at/publication/klimastatusbericht-oesterreich-klimarueckblicke-der-bundeslaender-2023/
https://ccca.ac.at/wissenstransfer/klimastatusbericht-2023
All previous reports are available at https://ccca.ac.at/wissenstransfer/klimastatusbericht.
The climate review has also been prepared for all nine federal states:
Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna
