News

Getting even hotter: Researchers predict global warming of 1.7 degrees by 2027

While Europe is currently sweltering in the heat, global temperatures are also rising towards concerning record levels. In 2026, Earth’s surface air temperature is expected to reach 1.62 degrees, and in 2027 even 1.71 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The long-term temperature rise – an average over a 20-year period – is predicted to exceed the 1.5-degree threshold of the Paris Agreement as of 2026 already. For the first time, researchers at the University of Graz have been able to make such a forecast so far in advance. The intensifying El Niño climate event favors forecast skill and thereby facilitates a reliable computation.

Achieving climate goals: Researchers highlight need for fair country shares in CO2

As the war in the Middle East is currently reminding us once again, many countries around the world are heavily reliant on oil and gas. Lax climate policy and limited options for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere could cement this dependence for future generations. Scientists at the University of Graz highlight this danger in a new study published in the journal Global Environmental Change. They find that rights to carbon dioxide removal should be distributed across countries just as fairly as emission budgets in order to halt global warming.

New groundbreaking computation method for climate extremes

How much will heat, flooding, drought and storms increase as a result of human-induced climate change? In a groundbreaking study, climate researcher Gottfried Kirchengast and his team at the University of Graz have developed a new method for computing the hazards from extreme events: it can compute all relevant hazard metrics for events such as heat waves, floods and droughts in any region worldwide with unprecedented information content. Using it for Europe, the researchers found that anthropogenic climate change has caused a tenfold increase in extreme heat in recent decades. The study, published in the journal Weather and Climate Extremes, also provides a basis for better quantifying the damage to people, ecosystems and infrastructure.

Atmospheric Rivers

"Atmospheric Rivers” (ARs) transport huge amounts of water vapor from the tropics to mid and high latitudes. When they hit land, extreme precipitation often occurs. Even a medium-sized example transports twice as much water as the Amazon River. The illustration shows an extreme case in the Atlantic, which caused severe devastation in Great Britain as storm “Desmond” and then hit Norway as storm “Synne”.

Researchers at the University of Graz enable reliable monitoring of Paris climate goals

Global warming is continuously advancing. How quickly this will happen can now be predicted more accurately than ever before, thanks to a method developed by climate researcher Gottfried Kirchengast and his team at the University of Graz. For the first time, this method enables reliable monitoring of the Paris climate goals and shows that temperatures are rising faster than expected in the latest IPCC report. The new findings have just been published in the scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Looking at the record year 2024: historic temperatures at Graz University

The meteorological station at the University of Graz has been collecting extensive information on air temperature for more than 130 years. These data not only provide interesting insights into the climate of the region, but also allow deeper insights into the long-term development of the weather.

Experiencing a heat record: summer 2024 at the University of Graz

A look back at the average temperatures of this year's meteorological summer (1 June to 31 August) on campus makes you listen up: New record values for the months of July and August, the average temperature for the summer was only just surpassed by the "summer of the century" in 2003.

Hunga eruption changes the atmosphere: researchers show effects

Less than a week ago, lava began to bubble up from the earth again in Iceland. In Sicily, Mount Etna does not come to rest. The eruption of a volcano can have massive consequences for a region. But its breath can also reach far beyond. During the eruption of Hunga in January 2022, the largest volcanic event of the 21st century to date, an unprecedented amount of water vapour was released into the upper atmosphere. Researchers from the Wegener Center at the University of Graz, in collaboration with colleagues from the USA, have investigated the changes in these high layers of air. They found an exceptional cooling of the stratosphere. This has far-reaching effects on the atmosphere and the climate. The study has recently been published in Communications Earth & Environment.

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