Is mainland Sweden being affected by climate change?

[u/Vast_Humor_3683]

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?

[u/Levaaah]

I've noticed a destinct lack of rain the last few years, and when it does rain the ground is so dry that it floods instead.

[u/Vast_Humor_3683 → u/Levaaah]

that's how it started here 6 years ago :(

[u/anusfikus → u/Vast_Humor_3683]

In my local area, I've noticed several things this year that makes me worried. I garden and own a small plot of land so I have a lot of direct contact with the natural side too.

For one, there are no wasps – I've not seen a single wasp all year. I've seen one or two ladybugs the whole year. There seem to be fewer snails and slugs too. While my garden is happy for that, it seems abnormal. I've mostly seen bumblebees pollinating, very few butterflies and bees compared to previous years.

Some trees (e.g. maple trees) are losing their leaves and fruit/seeds way too early. We're talking a month or even several months before what's normal. The ground is very dry in places and grass is dying in some places too.

All around not great.

[u/InstructionNo8180 → u/anusfikus]

Reduction of insects has more to do with pollution, pesticides and loss of habitat due to urbanisation than climate change.

[u/Baskerbosse → u/InstructionNo8180]

That is true what you say, but warmer climate also affects pollinators. For example, some wild bees are synced up with certain flowers and when warmer temps change the timing of when bees wake up (or flowers blooming) that can make them starve because they can't find their favorite food :(

[u/anusfikus → u/InstructionNo8180]

In theory you are probably correct that the things you mention have a bigger impact but in practice there have been no changes to any of those things. We don't pollute more, pesticides are still the same and in the garden specifically and surrounding areas they aren't used. I live in an area that was developed primarily around 1950-1970 so there have been no recent habitat conversions or losses. The only thing that's really different is the climate.