News

Trees populating the urban landscape mitigate the impact of climate change on people. Yet trees themselves are suffering from the rise in temperature. Thus in designing truly healthy urban living spaces, people and trees must be considered together.

In the night of July 14-15, 2021, record flooding struck the Ahr valley, killing 134 people. One year later: What key measures have been implemented to handle flash flooding? In which areas has no progress, or only little progress, been made? Where do our adaptation strategies stand?

Overfishing, acidification, warming, pollution, extinctions and rising sea levels: Our oceans are in critical condition. At the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon and the G7, experts and politicians discussed solutions. What steps should countries take to protect the oceans, and how would this benefit the climate?

The third part of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR 6), published on April 4, 2022, shows: We still have a chance to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. To do so, we need to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. With immediate and deep changes, this is possible.

Take a stroll through the fields or forests and you run the risk of bringing some unwanted companions back home. As a consequence of climate change, ticks are becoming active earlier and staying active longer throughout the year. When a tick is infected with a virus or with bacteria such as borrelia, the encounter has the potential to become a very uncomfortable one. Learn more in our factsheet.

In the new Working Group II contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report, climate scientists assess the current state of knowledge about mitigation options to climate change. Here you will find background information the Sixth Assessment Report, on the IPCC, and expert analyse.

The new subreport of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows how emissions could be reduced quickly enough to yet achieve the climate targets of the Paris Agreement.

The global community has taken a decisive step toward resolving its problem with plastics. On March 2, 2022, the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) issued a mandate to negotiate a comprehensive global plastics treaty. It should be ready in two years’ time. Experts at Helmholtz welcome this decision.

In the new Working Group II contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report, climate scientists assess the current state of knowledge about adaptation options to climate change. Here you will find background information the Sixth Assessment Report, on the IPCC, and expert analyse.