For an Environment Worth Living in

Temperature change in Germany since 1881

climate-stripes Ed Hawkins, University of Reading

Our Mission

Exploring Climate and Environment, Developing Solutions

Our Values

Respectful Discourse to Advanced Research with Responsibility

Our Vision

For an Environment Worth Living it

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The climate strip shows the change in the annual mean temperature near the ground for Germany. The climate data comes from the German Weather Service (DWD) and the visualization was developed by Ed Hawkins (University of Reading, UK). For this type of presentation, the data from 1971-2000 are avaraged and this average is then subtracted from the respective annual mean temperatures. The deviations from this mean are now colored: colder years in shades of blue, warmer years in shades of red. For later years, the reds become more frequent and stronger - the sign of a warming over the years shown.

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We look forward to showing you our work at one of our numerous events.

Our events are divided into our series of events:

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News

leider kein Bild vorhandenKIT
SPIEGEL berichtet: "Sauerstoff-Isotope im Tropfstein erzählen von früheren Naturkatastrophen"

"Mithilfe eines uralten Stalagmiten haben Fachleute Klimaereignisse der vergangenen Jahrhunderte rekonstruiert. Der Stein verriet etwa das »Jahr ohne Sommer« und offenbarte Details zur Kleinen Eiszeit."

 

content available in German only

zum SPIEGEL-Artikel
das Bild zeigt eine stürmische See, am Ufer biegen sich Palmen im WildBildagentur PantherMedia/DogoraSun (YAYMicro)
Costs of the Climate Crisis: An Insurance Umbrella for Nations at Risk

The consequences of the climate crisis particularly affect small developing countries – not least financially. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), RiskLayer GmbH – a startup of KIT -, and the University of Cambridge have now developed a strategy to protect these nations against the high costs of climate-induced disasters. They want public-private partnerships to play a central role in the support of the countries affected. The official launch of the report from the team was made on Monday, December 4, 2023 at the UN Climate Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai and has, and will continue to be presented in various forums and high-level meetings from the 30th November-12th December.

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das Foto illustriert anhand von Farbfeldern die verbesserte Auflösung einer Deutschland-Wetterkarte durch KI-AnwendungLuca Glawion, KIT
Highly Resolved Precipitation Maps Based on AI

Strong precipitation may cause natural disasters, such as floodings or landslides. Global climate models are required to forecast the frequency of these extreme events, which is expected to change as a result of climate change. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a first method based on artificial intelligence (AI), by means of which the precision of coarse precipitation fields generated by global climate models can be increased. The researchers succeeded in improving spatial resolution of precipitation fields from 32 to two kilometers and temporal resolution from one hour to ten minutes. This higher resolution is required to better forecast the more frequent occurrence of heavy local precipitation and the resulting natural disasters in future.

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CEC News - Only available in German

GruppenfotoKIT
Visit to the KIT Centre for Climate and Environment by Dr. Sandra Detzer, Member of the German Bundestag, on 26 January 2024

At the invitation of Prof. Hilgers, KIT-ZKU & AGW, KIT, represented by our Vice President Prof. Hirth, received Dr. Sandra Detzer, member of the Bundestag from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, at the KIT Center for Climate and Environment and at wbk. The focus of the visit was the bilateral exchange on the topic of the circular economy. Following the talks, all participants toured the wbk's production technology laboratory.

Christoph Hilgers: Speicherung von CO2 im Untergrund als Teil einer Klimastrategie „sinnvoll und machbar“

Für die Speicherung von CO2 im Untergrund (Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS) als Teil einer umfassenden Klimastrategie sprechen sich aktuell in einem gemeinsamen Thesenpapier der Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI), der Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) sowie die Umweltverbände Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) und World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) aus. Solche technischen Lösungen sollten – ergänzend zur Stärkung intakter Ökosysteme als natürliche Kohlenstoffsenken – auch in Deutschland zum Einsatz kommen.
 
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Die Delegation des KIT in ShanghaiTongji University
ZKU delegation visits Shanghai

From January 9 to 12, scientists visited Tongji University in Shanghai to further develop the Sino-German Environmental Center. In addition to plenary discussions and in-depth bilateral talks and laboratory visits, the program also included visits to potential industrial partners such as Bosch, Adidas and Covestro. All of these companies have sustainability strategies and are working on circular economy processes and climate neutrality concepts.

Illustration: Eva Gau / www.fraugau.de; Text und Konzept: Almut OchsmannIllustration: Eva Gau / www.fraugau.de; Text und Konzept: Almut Ochsmann
Karlsruher Umweltimpulse 2024 als Graphic Novel

Das waren die Karlsruher Umweltimpulsen 2023: Die Graphic Novel fasst die Kernaussagen unserer Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer zusammen.

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DGGVDGGV
Factsheet Rohstoffsicherung

Prof. Jochen Kolb und Prof. Christoph Hilgers vom KIT sowie Dr. Peter Buchholz von der Deutschen Rohstoffagentur (DERA)  haben die aktuellen Entwicklungen im Bereich der nationalen und internationalen Rohstoffsicherung zusammengefasst.

Zum Factsheet
Aktuelle Forschung
Forschung für eine lebenswerte Zukunft

Die Erde ist von Klima- und Umweltwandel
geprägt. Die Lebensbedingungen verän-
dern sich im 21. Jahrhundert schnell und
einschneidend. Demografische, technische
und ökonomische Entwicklungen wirken
sich auf Verfügbarkeit und Güte wichtiger
Ressourcen wie Luft, Wasser, Nahrung, En-
ergie und Rohstoffe aus. Dadurch werden
Staaten und Gesellschaften verletzlich. Dies
zeigt: Die Klima- und Umweltforschung
steht vor großen, neuen Herausforde-
rungen.

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