“Meteorology is not climatology”

The effects of the climate crisis in the Dolomites continued to be felt this summer. After a long period of drought, extreme weather events caused hydrogeological instability and strong winds led to destruction in the forests already threatened by the ips typographus or European spruce bark beetle. All this while the rainfall of a few weeks has led many to confuse assessing weather phenomena with assessing climate trends, which takes into consideration reference periods of at least 30 years. In order to reflect on the importance of clear communication and, above all, on climate crisis adaptation measures, the state of glaciers, the rising permafrost level, and the condition of natural forest heritage, guests at the Rifugio Scarpa-Gurekian (Frassenè di Voltago Agordino, Belluno), the State Forestry Corps, mountaineer and writer Paola Favero, and leading cryosphere expert Anselmo Cagnati met under the Agner rock face on 13 August. Paola Favero presented her latest book “Perdere l’equilibrio – viaggio attraverso gli squilibri dell’Antropocene” [Losing balance – a journey through the imbalances of the Anthropocene] (Cierre Edizioni). Anselmo Cagnati is a former Pelmo d’Oro Special Dolomites World Heritage award winner (2022). We interviewed them for our “Noi Dolomiti” series.