On March 13 and 14, 2023, the “2nd National Expert Forum: Water Extremes as a Consequence of Climate Change” took place at the Klimahaus Bremerhaven. This year, the focus of the event was on extreme drought and aridity. For the event, our Young Professionals Marie-Theres Baranski, Lina-Marie Müller, Katharina Seeger and Dennis Wengenroth collectively planned a workshop with the title “What does the future hold?”. Insights into Young Professionals’ Research on Drought and Heat with DKKV Young Professionals.”
At the beginning of the session, Lina introduced DKKV as well as us Young Professionals and our activities. Then Dennis gave an insight into the impact of natural hazards on the health development of the population in the country of Madagascar. The effects of heat and drought on food and drinking water supply were considered. Additionally, the impact of annually recurring cyclones on infrastructure could be presented, which contribute to crop failures and food shortages among the population. At the end, a transition was made to the health status of the population and the increasing deficits were made clear.
Katharina then presented the research she conducted as part of her master’s thesis. She addressed exceptional rainfall and flooding events in the extremely dry Andean Precordillera (Norchile). She followed this up with a connection to Germany, which is also increasingly vulnerable to erosion as a result of future increases in drought and heavy rainfall.
In the second part of the workshop, a serious game was played. After an explanation of the game concept by Marie-Theres, the participants were able to try out ways of thinking in risk management in relation to precautionary and preventive measures in a playful manner. Finally, the game was reflected on together and the insights were discussed.
We are pleased about the great interest in our workshop and would like to thank all participants for the inspiring exchange! Among the participants was also the ZDF weather anchor Özden Terli, who took time for a more personal professional exchange after our session. We would also like to thank him for this opportunity!
If you have any questions about the workshop or the serious game, or if you are interested in the presentation, please contact lina.mueller@dkkv.org.