Climate Change from a Meteorological Point of View

Although the intensity of the European heat wave in 2003, as well as the warm autumn of 2006 and the mild winter 2006/2007, can still be regarded as rare events falling within the natural variability of the climate when seen against the background of the climate of the past centuries, both the global and the local climate of the past decades have increasingly been moving away from this climate toward warmer conditions. One of the main causes of this trend, which is also verified by climate models, is the so- called greenhouse effect, an effect, which, due to the presence of gases in the atmosphere and in particular carbon dioxide, leads to a temperature increase on the earth's surface. This may result - if an anthropogenic influence exceeds certain limits - in a global warming, which can influence the energy balance of the earth, with all its consequences.