At the start of 2021, we moved into a new 30-year climate normal period — 1991 to 2020. This brings a new reference period and new reference values for climate-related analyses and comparisons. The Austrian Climate Status Report 2020 takes a closer look at the new climate normal period and compares it with the previous one (1961 to 1990). How has the climate changed on average over the last 30 years? Which climate indices show the most striking changes, and what consequences does this have for us and our environment? The report shows that even seemingly small changes in average temperature conditions can have massive impacts on our environment and society. Alongside a brief overview of these impacts, the report takes a closer look at two processes in particular: changes in soil water balance and changes in snow conditions.

The report also revisits the topic of climate change adaptation. Federal and state-level adaptation strategies are often contrasted with spontaneous, privately undertaken adaptation measures. Chapter 3 of the report shows that these aren't always sensible from a long-term or societal perspective. At the same time, numerous references to further information and current research projects on climate change offer practical tips for successful adaptation.

For the second year running, climate reviews for all nine federal states have been compiled:

Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Vienna

The annually published Austrian Climate Status Report 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 the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) and BOKU, with contributions from numerous other research institutions.

Press releases:

• Too warm, too wet: 2020 brought the second warmest winter since 1768 on klimafonds.gv.at and ots.at
• "Climate Status Report": 2020 too warm, too dry, too stormy on orf.at
• Climate Status Report: 2020 was too warm, too dry and too stormy on nachrichten.at
• Climate change — Climate Status Report: 2020 was too dry and too warm on noen.at