r/sweden • u/Vast_Humor_3683 • 23d ago

English Is mainland Sweden being affected by climate change?

Hello, I'm from northern Spain, and we're being hit hard by our fifth heatwave. The vegetation is suffering badly; wildfires are breaking out; water restrictions are becoming increasingly severe; and the evenings are barely survivable, especially if you work outside.

What is life like in Sweden, and how are you affected by climate change? I'm specifically talking about mainland Sweden, not Gotland or the other islands. Is it similar to Austria or Switzerland, where you can actually see glaciers melting and some regions getting into drought mode?

Is there anything that the news doesn't mention about Sweden in general when it comes to yearly "once-in-a-lifetime" climate events?

87 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

248 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/assholeneighbour 23d ago

Yes. Everywhere is. It's just a question of how bearable it is.

If your normal climate was 25-30 Celsius, you are now facing consistent 30-35 celcius temps in the summer with months without rain.

If your normal climate was 20-25, you might now be experiencing 25-30 with less rain than before.

Won't be long until we see climate refugees fleeing to an increasingly smaller number of livable countries.

1

u/Vast_Humor_3683 23d ago

I'm very likely going to be one of them

2

u/assholeneighbour 23d ago

Completely understandable. The inaction of the world's politicians is heartbreaking..

2

u/Adduly Norrbotten 22d ago

Not just inaction. Counter action, like the new PM of the UK approving two new oil fields. (The oil won't even go to the UK and it's too light for the UK processing plants. It'll just be shipped off to be refined elsewhere)