News

Heat-resistant: Eva Preinfalk explains how cities can protect their residents

Certain demographic and some occupational groups are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures. A range of measures is needed to provide relief for everyone, explains climate economist Eva Preinfalk.

Getting even hotter: Researchers predict global warming of 1.7 degrees by 2027

While Europe is currently sweltering in the heat, global temperatures are also rising towards concerning record levels. In 2026, Earth’s surface air temperature is expected to reach 1.62 degrees, and in 2027 even 1.71 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The long-term temperature rise – an average over a 20-year period – is predicted to exceed the 1.5-degree threshold of the Paris Agreement as of 2026 already. For the first time, researchers at the University of Graz have been able to make such a forecast so far in advance. The intensifying El Niño climate event favors forecast skill and thereby facilitates a reliable computation.

2. Österreichischer Hitzeaktionstag

Hitze ist das größte durch den Klimawandel bedingte Gesundheitsrisiko in Österreich!

Join NBS4Drought: Research internships

As climate change intensifies droughts across Europe, wetlands are emerging as powerful natural solutions for storing water, protecting ecosystems, and supporting communities. Through NBS4Drought, we are working across seven showcase sites to better understand and demonstrate how these systems can be used effectively and at scale.

Businesslauf 2026

Die SoCo Runners sausten blitzschnell durchs Ziel

Studie der Uni Graz: Budgetsanierung ohne Klimapolitik ist mehrfach kontraproduktiv

Während die Bundesregierung über Einsparungen im Doppelbudget verhandelt, gerät ein zentraler Hebel unter Druck: Investitionen für Klimaschutz und -anpassung. Eine Kurzstudie im Auftrag des WWF macht deutlich, dass genau hier zu sparen teuer wird. Forscher:innen warnen vor dem WAIT-Effekt.

Dagmar Henner 1969–2026

Dagmar war uns allen eine wunderbare Kollegin. Wir haben gemeinsam über Forschungsfragen nachgedacht, in Projekten gearbeitet, versucht, Antworten zu finden – für eine bessere Zukunft, für alle, die nach uns kommen. Wir denken an die Zeit mit Dagmar und verbleiben in tiefstem Respekt und mit großer Dankbarkeit.

Achieving climate goals: Researchers highlight need for fair country shares in CO2

As the war in the Middle East is currently reminding us once again, many countries around the world are heavily reliant on oil and gas. Lax climate policy and limited options for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere could cement this dependence for future generations. Scientists at the University of Graz highlight this danger in a new study published in the journal Global Environmental Change. They find that rights to carbon dioxide removal should be distributed across countries just as fairly as emission budgets in order to halt global warming.

More news

New groundbreaking computation method for climate extremes

How much will heat, flooding, drought and storms increase as a result of human-induced climate change? In a groundbreaking study, climate researcher…

University of Graz study shows: public money for climate adaptation pays off

In order to plug the budget gap, the state is currently pinching pennies. However, when it comes to adapting to climate change, investing helps to…

Habilitation colloquium by Julia Danzer

On January 27, 2026, Julia Danzer successfully held her habilitation colloquium entitled "High quality atmospheric climatologies from radio…

Setback: Austria's greenhouse gas emissions rise in 2025

Climate protection is currently facing an uphill battle. The United Nations have recently been unable to agree on a roadmap for phasing out fossil…

Happy Holidays!

The Wegener Center team wishes you happy holidays and a joyful, healthy New Year 2026!

Wir gratulieren!

Erfolgreiche Abschlussprüfungen am Wegener Center

Fair distribution: Researchers determine just greenhouse gas budgets for all EU regions

Ten years ago, on 12 December 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was signed at the UN Climate Conference. In order to limit global warming to well…

Influential: Rupert Baumgartner and Holger Hoff among the highly cited researchers

The number of publications in scientific journals is considered to be a measure of a researcher's scientific achievement. How often these works are…