Mildwinter threatened onion harvest: pests attack!

Mildwinter threatened onion harvest: pests attack!

The winter of 2025 presents itself in Lower Austria with milder temperatures - an increase of one to two degrees above the long -term average, which awakens the concern of onion farmers like Joachim Valis. These mild conditions could favor the occurrence of pests, in particular on onion thripes. These tiny insects, which live in the onion plants and absorb their juice, have so far been combated without approved pesticides. Valis explains that agriculture not only has to adapt to mild winter, but also to extreme summer heat. Breeders have already developed more heat -friendly onion species, mainly by crossing with Italian and Spanish varieties that have greater root systems to meet the challenges of climate change. According to Vali, agriculture is particularly affected by dryness and heat waves in the Marchfeld and Weinviertel. "The need for irrigation will increase here," says the expert.

health consequences of the heat

The alarm bells do not only ring in agriculture. A report by the "Lancet Countdown" emphasizes that dealing with heat is also important in winter. In the future, the deaths of over 65-year-olds could increase by 370 percent if the temperatures increase globally by two degrees, which is considered optimistic, since the earth is heading for an increase of almost three degrees. The climate scientist Prof. Dr. Niklas Höhne warns that this development could have catastrophic effects on health. In Germany, there were an average of 7.9 days a year from 2013 to 2022, on which the population was exposed to potentially life -threatening heat. This led to a loss of 34 million working hours in 2022, especially in the construction industry. With regard to upcoming heat periods, the Federal Ministry of Health is working on measures to provide heat protection and plans to better prepare the public for the dangers to protect the vulnerable groups.

One-billion euros are required for climate transformation between 2021 and 2030, as Agora Energy transition estimates. The scientists urgently demand more investments in climate protection measures to counteract the dazzling heat and the health risks associated with it. These challenges illustrate how closely agriculture and health are linked to each other, and that drastic consequences are threatened without comprehensive adjustments and prevention strategies. While the onion farmers try to withstand the climatic conditions, social structures in Germany must also be adapted to get the heat and their health effects under control. According to the Lancet report, both preventive action and structural changes in nutrition are required to find long -term solutions.

Information on the health risks can be read in detail at Ärzteblatt, while the challenges for the onion industry are dealt with in detail at ORF.