The Swiss plateau increasingly resembles Tuscany due to global warming | environment

The long periods of heat and drought over the past 20 years have already dramatically changed the landscape. Water loss is a prevalent change in many places. As a result, greenery and cold dominate less often. It gives way to bright colors of yellow and brown, the foundation wrote, reminiscent of the dry landscapes of the Tuscan valleys.

In the Alps, and especially at higher elevations, the effects of climate change also appear, but in a different way. There, an increased “mineralization” can be observed, says fp in a press release, referring to the process by which organic compounds are converted into inorganic compounds.

Glaciers are retreating there, accompanied by drought. Due to the lack of water, the exposed depths become greener very slowly. Mountain streams and waterfalls transform from non-glacial watersheds into streams. This is also a well-known situation in Italy, in the Alps of Piedmont and Liguria, says the foundation.

According to the foundation, water loss and increased global warming have an impact on biodiversity and reduce landscape diversity. This situation also reduces the recreational value and thus reduces the tourist capital of the landscape. The foundation regrets that “the romantic ideal of ‘green’ and water-rich Switzerland – a model for many ‘Swiss’ in other countries – seems to be changing sustainably”.