#[1]Opphavsrett NRK [2]Hjelp [3]Søk

   Barentshavet

Something is happening to Norway

   Slowly, almost imperceptibly.

   Researchers are no longer in doubt: Global warming has begun to make
   Norway warmer and wetter.

   Not in 50 years, or 100. But now.

   So what has changed? Have things really begun to happen already? Over
   the past twelve months we have traveled around the country, looking for
   answers. Chasing climate change.
   [1.14369651-w300.jpg]

   Journalist
          Mads Nyborg Støstad

   [1.14369662-w300.jpg]

   Photo-journalist
          Patrick da Silva Sæther

   We didnʼt expect
   to find so much.
   Chapter_1

Browner water

   Our climate journey begins with a curious observation, here in the
   little hamlet of Vallsjøen, in Hedmark. Something strange is happening
   in our lakes.

   Trond Nygaard, who works for the municipal waterworks here in Sør-Odal,
   draws up a bucket of water to show us the strange phenomenon.

   “Look! The water is as dark as Lipton tea!” he says. In fact, lakes and
   rivers are becoming browner, all over southern Norway.

   This change has been taking place since the 1980s, and until the
   present day the main cause has been a decrease in acid rain. But now
   researchers think that climate change is also having an effect. When
   the climate becomes wetter, more dissolved soil and plant material
   washes out into the water. In a warmer climate, a more fertile
   landscape also contributes to browner water.

   In Sør-Odal, people still get clear water in their taps, because they
   have this modern purification plant. In other places, things are a bit
   worse.

   Here in Asker and Bærum, for example, it will soon become problematic
   to get a sparkling white T-shirt after doing the laundry. Now they have
   to build a new purification plant, at a cost of between NOK 700 to 1000
   million.

   I donʼt think that people fully realize that this is happening. They
   just expect to get clean water in their taps.

     – Jon Mobråten, Asker and Bærum Waterworks

   The short summary of climate change in Norway is that our country has
   become one degree Celsius warmer over the past 115 years. But what
   exactly does this single degree of warming lead to? That was our
   question a year ago, when we began to call scientists and read climate
   reports.

   And the first thing we discovered was that Norway looks different.
   Chapter_2

A changing landscape

   The landscape has changed in many ways. For example, examine the
   timberline. The trees have begun to creep up the valleysides, in step
   with rising temperatures and the changing use of wilderness. In some
   places, the timberline is over 100 meters higher than before.

   There is less snow in the lowlands. In parts of the Oslo wildlands, the
   skiing season has become nearly 40 days shorter.

   But the most visible change in the landscape, we found here, in the far
   northeast of Norway.

   Large portions of the birch forest in the region have been destroyed.
   One could easily believe that something had exploded here. But the
   culprit is in fact a larva.

   The larvae of the so-called autumnal and winter moths attack the trees
   and eat their leaves. Climate change aggravates the destruction,
   according to researchers. New species of moth are spreading northwards,
   and milder winters are beneficial for the moth eggs.

   In Nesseby, one of the hardest hit areas, we find Oddvar and Frøydis
   Betten. Before, they had dense birch forest all the way in to the walls
   of their cabin.

   Now they are surrounded by dead trees.

   At its worst, the roads here were green and slippery. They were covered
   by larvae.

     – Frøydis Betten

   It is still unclear how the moths affect wildlife here. But researchers
   and reindeer owners fear that such major changes in nature can create
   ripple effects throughout the entire eco-system.

   Even the sea floor has changed. Hartvig Christie celebrates as he
   emerges from the deep. «Thereʼs seaweed here! Lots of seaweed!»

   For several decades, marine biologists have been watching a war on the
   sea floor. Between sea kelp – which he calls the rain forest of the sea
   – and sea urchins, which spread destruction.

   In the 1990s the sea urchins appeared to be winning – they had
   transformed the sea-bed into a desert, from north to south. But then
   something happened that astonished Hartvig Christie.

   Researchers started finding kelp plants, from central Trøndelag to
   Troms in the far north. The ocean temperature had risen, and suddenly
   the spiky invaders were gone. A consequence of climate change,
   according to Hartvig Christie.

   He emphasizes that this is a positive climate change, seen in
   isolation.

   But it is frightening just how much a few tenths of a degree can change
   the sea floor. The changes in the ocean are massive.

     – Hartvig Christie, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)

   Most Norwegians donʼt pay much notice to the kelp forest or moth
   larvae. But climate change also alters something that we all feel
   first-hand, every day – namely, the weather.
   Chapter_3

The great weather shift

   Norway has always had varied weather. But the message from the numbers
   is clear, from weather stations all across the country: The weather has
   changed.

   There is 18 percent more precipitation now than there was 115 years
   ago. This is not some prediction from a researcherʼs PowerPoint
   presentation. This is a present-day fact.

   Measurements from Blindern in Oslo show that the major summer rain
   showers have nearly doubled in intensity. The drainage systems in the
   capital are not equipped for this.

   When the sewer pipes in Oslo are filled to overflowing with rainwater,
   the pressure must be relieved. And then sewage is released into the
   rivers.

   After powerful downpours the rivers disgorge sewage into the Oslo
   fjord. On such days there can be 100 times more intestinal bacteria
   than normal in the fjord, according to municipal bathing water quality
   measurements.

   This is why the local authority discourages swimming, for example, at
   the popular bathing spot Sørenga, the day after rainfall.

   Though seaside visitors donʼt necessarily grasp this message once the
   sun is shining again.

   But powerful showers can have greater consequences than bacteria
   levels. In August, this dam outside of Bergen collapsed, due to both a
   structural defect, and also – intense rain . Western Norway set several
   rainfall records this autumn.

   Just a few weeks later there was a massive downpour in Kristiansand.
   People barely had time to grab their umbrellas before they were up to
   their waists in water. Over 70 cellars were flooded. A few hours of
   rain did NOK 90 million worth of damage.

   And finally, Norwayʼs driest place, Skjåk, was covered by water. The
   cause – rain, combined with melting snow – in October.

   21-year-old Pia Forberg awoke in the middle of the flood in Skjåk. The
   water was about to rise as high as the window frame. Just after, water
   began to trickle up between the floorboards, and she had to evacuate.

   When she returned the next day, the apartment was a wreck.

   Iʼve always believed that you donʼt need boots in Skjåk. This was a
   shock.

     – Pia Forberg

   Luckily, no lives were lost in floods in the previous year. But heavy
   rainfall can also result in landslides. In December 2017, a 38-year-old
   woman died when 200 tons of wet earth hit a residence in Osterøy.

   We canʼt conclude that these isolated incidents are caused by climate
   changes. On the other hand, we can conclude that such incidents have
   already become more common. And that it will likely cost us several
   hundred billion NOK to arm ourselves against all this water.

   But it was not flooding that made 2018 memorable. It was heat waves and
   drought. Climate changes may lead to more drought, even if there is
   more rain. This is because as it becomes warmer, more water evaporates.

   This is exactly what happened in the summer. First came the hottest May
   on record, then the hottest ever July, and when it also scarcely
   rained, Norway became bone dry. The Civil Defense expended 71,313
   man-hours putting out over 800 forest fires, like here in Lommedalen.

   Of course it wears you down. And then it wears you out.

     – Lars Christian, smoke diver

   But the drought hits farmers the hardest of all. Like the Engebretsen
   family.

   This summer, nothing grew on their farm. These pathetic tufts could not
   feed the familyʼs more than hundred cows, calves and oxen.

   The only solution was to send dozens of animals to the slaughterhouse.
   Mother Linda realized this as early as June. But she hesitated at the
   laptop for months. It was too painful to hit ʼsendʼ and deliver the
   message to the butcher.

   Part of the reason was because Linda and the children were so fond of
   the cows. Each of them have a name, and some of them have gotten a
   place of honor on the kitchen cabinets.

   But mostly it was because these are suckler cows, and they should have
   lived and produced calves for many more years. Without them, the family
   might not be able to afford to run the farm any more.

   Finally, on this day in October, Linda managed to send in the form to
   the butcher.

   And in November, while the children were at school, Linda said her
   farewells through the window of the butcherʼs van. Soon she will be
   down to between 20 and 30 cows – a death blow for the farm .

   This drought will be the end of me as a farmer.

     – Linda Kathrin Engebretsen

   OK, we need to slow down a bit. When you talk about climate change, it
   is easy to just scream about the negative and dramatic. In reality it
   is, as always, a bit more nuanced. For example, we must mention that
   Norway has gotten off relatively lightly in terms of drought so far,
   all things considered. We in the north are also lucky when it comes to
   rising sea level and storms. In addition, not all climate changes in
   Norway are purely negative.
   Chapter_4

Positive climate change effects

   The summer of 2018 was a wet dream for everyone who likes to enjoy
   themselves in the sun, as we can see here in Frysja in Oslo. And they
   are not alone in getting something good out of the changing climate.

   Farmers, for example, have received new possibilities with a warmer
   climate and longer growing season. Here and there, even a few vineyards
   have begun to spring up.

   Here by the edge of Sognefjorden, Bjørn Bergum and his partner
   harvested nearly two tons of Pinot Noir, Solaris and other exotic grape
   varieties this year. Bergum didnʼt think about climate change when he
   got started, but now acknowledges that his project would have been
   difficult without the rising temperature.

   This is just the beginning. The next dream is to establish a wine
   district up here.

     – Bjørn Bergum, wine farmer

   A few kilometers further southwest, in idyllic Lærdal, fruit farmer
   Ivar Petter Grøtte is experimenting with cherries, peaches, and even
   apricots.

   Foreign visitors can scarcely believe their own eyes when they come
   here. Apricots, so far north!

     – Ivar Petter Grøtte, fruit farmer

   In the mountains, both children and adults cheer about something
   completely different, namely large amounts of snow, like here at
   Sjusjøen in Hedmark in February last year. There has actually been more
   snow in the mountains, where the temperature is still well under
   freezing during the winter.

   But under closer examination, not even these examples are only
   positive.

   All the snow in Sjusjøen this winter resulted in a series of power
   outages and damage to cabin roofs.

   For the wine farmer in Slinde, the summer of 2018 was actually too warm
   for some of the grapes.

   And most significant of all: In 2014, right after fruit farmer Ivar
   Petter Grøtte had planted his new apricot trees, a 200-year flood hit –
   and swept them away.

   Four years after the flood, he is still working to clear up the damage.

   What is new is the intense variability. We farmers are used to weather,
   but it has become extreme.

     – Ivar Petter Grøtte, fruit farmer

   The start of this climate investigation was marked by relatively calm
   and undramatic climate changes. But the sense of gravity grew with the
   droughts and floods. And there remained one further substantial change.
   A climate change that is truly occurring at top speed in Norway:
   namely, melting.
   Chapter_5

Norway is melting

   Our iconic glaciers are melting so much that they are hardly visible on
   postcards any more.

   Before, this boat could bring tourists all the way to the edge of
   Nigardsbreen glacier. But in a bit over 50 years the melting glacier
   has retreated a kilometer.

   The melting is rapid. In the summer of 2017 this edge of ice was 81
   meters further down the mountainside. Now you need a mountain hike in
   order to reach the glacier.

   Up by the ice, one finds signs, barriers and Torbjørn, a guard. Because
   the Nigardsbreen glacier can be especially dangerous when it is melting
   so quickly.

   In the summer, a block of ice loosened while three tourists were too
   close. The person in this video was saved. Another lost their life.

   The guides still manage to arrange family tours on the glacier – but
   only just. Each morning is a struggle to create a serviceable route.

   People who havenʼt been here for a while are shocked. They donʼt
   recognize the place.

     – Steinar Bruheim, glacier guide

   But melting also has consequences that one seldom considers. Such as in
   the so-called palsa bogs. There we found one of the strangest climate
   changes we have seen.

   “Itʼs completely incredible,” exclaims biologist Annika Hofgaard. For
   the first time in five years, she is back in the bog outside of
   Kirkenes.

   This landscape has been covered by large mounds for several hundred
   years. The mounds consisted of frozen bog water. But something is
   wrong. The landscape here is almost completely flat.

   They are gone. It is both sad and frightening.

     – Annika Hofgaard, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)

   Annika Hofgaard took this photo the last time she was here, five years
   ago. But since then the ice inside the mound has melted.

   The only thing that remains now, is a puddle. The same thing is
   happening in all of Norwayʼs palsa bogs.

   The change can be dramatic for bird life here, and more.

   As our climate journey approached its end, it was just such changes
   that made the greatest impression. Not dollars, cents or billions, but
   - birds. Time after time, we spoke with shaken, or simply sad,
   biologists.
   Chapter_6

The animals

   They told us about the Arctic fox, which is acutely endangered. In the
   new heat, they are being ousted by the red fox.

   We saw birds suffering stress as their favorite food vanishes.

   And we heard about the lemming. Previously, there was a ‘lemming year’
   – population spike – every fourth year. Now the regular lemming cycle
   is gone. This affects other animals, such as grouse – because in
   nature, everything is connected.

   And when animals are affected, the people who are dependent on them are
   affected as well.

   Like reindeer herder Nils Arvid Guttorm. “We have had difficult winters
   before. But not as extreme as in recent years,” he says.

   His problem is icing on grazing land. If it is too warm at the
   beginning of the winter, a hard layer of ice can form over the pasture,
   and his animals will not be able to get through to their food.

   A few years ago, Nils Arvid had to provide feed every day throughout
   the winter, in the middle of the plains. When spring arrived, he was so
   worn out that he considered giving up on reindeer husbandry.

   "Luckily my wife stopped me. She said: Youʼll go crazy if you quit!"
   Nils Arvid is glad he kept at it. But when you live in such proximity
   to animals and nature, you notice every little change.

   My father always read the weather signs. In the autumn, he could see
   how the winter would be. But in the final years of his life, he was a
   worried man. Because the signs werenʼt right any more.

     – Nils Arvid Guttorm, reindeer herder

   Not far away, Frank Myklebust is hauling up fish. In the far north of
   Norway, the sea is teeming.

   Frank used to live in Lofoten, where he was dependent on the
   traditional ‘lofottorsken’, spawning cod.

   The drawback with living in Lofoten was that Frank constantly had to
   sail north after other fish when the cod season was over. “Every trip
   took several months. I hardly knew my children.”

   But a few years ago the spawning cod began to appear further north as
   well, since the ocean had become warmer.

   Today, Frank lives 600 kilometers northeast of Lofoten, in Mehamn in
   Finnmark. There he can now fish for cod and other seafood – right
   outside his door.

   In Frankʼs new home port, at the top of the map of Norway, they are
   suddenly experiencing a true fishing boom, with a new fish processing
   center and many new residents. The question is: what will the fishing
   industry do when the cod continue their journey further northeast in
   the future? Because the next stop is Russia.

   The future... yes. We havenʼt spoken much about that, because our
   climate investigation is only about the here and now, about things that
   have already happened. But the future nightmare scenario, three degrees
   warming, is in fact already to be found, one place in Norway. We had to
   travel there before our investigation was finished. To Svalbard.
   Chapter_7

The thawing island

   It may seem as though the weather is particularly confused here, at the
   northernmost point of Norway, halfway between the mainland and the
   North Pole. On Svalbard it has been warmer than normal for 97 months in
   a row.

   On average, the archipelago has had three times more warming than the
   rest of the country.

   The houses here in Longyearbyen are built on frozen ground, so-called
   permafrost. But now the frost is thawing.

   This means the buildings are more vulnerable to sinking and cracking.

   It is particularly bad at the sea edge. This is where the Hübner family
   cabin used to stand.

   Not any more. The family had to move the entire cabin 100 meters away
   from the sea.

   The ground had thawed and become unstable. The plot of land belonging
   to Christiane, Wolfgang and little Silas was gradually being washed
   into the sea.

   For those of us up here, who can see the climate changes so clearly –
   it is frightening that people donʼt take them seriously.

     – Christiane Hübner

   The cemetery overseen by clergyman Leif Magne Helgesen was suddenly in
   the middle of a landslide zone. He no longer dared to use it for new
   burials. “This is supposed to be a place of peace. But the melting of
   the permafrost has turned the mountain into a slide,” says Helgesen,
   who has now given up the position of parson on Svalbard.

   There are so many climate effects on Svalbard that we cannot go through
   them all here. But we canʼt leave out the melting of sea ice. The
   Norwegian Meteorological Institute announced in August that they had
   never observed less ice around Svalbard than now.

   Polar explorer Kim Holmén sighs. Here, there used to be ice until well
   into May. Now Isfjorden, The Ice Fjord, is ice-free all year round.

   Before, you could drive right across this fjord with a snowmobile. This
   winter there hasnʼt been a single bit of ice.

     – Kim Holmén, Norwegian Polar Institute

   The melting is dramatic for animal life here. Researchers have observed
   polar bears needing to swim for several days in order to find spots to
   hibernate.

   And worst of all: Snow and ice are important because they reflect the
   warm rays of the sun away from the Earth. Therefore, without the ice,
   the planet warms up even faster. A classic vicious circle.

   The most striking impression after a yearʼs journey through our
   climate, is how many different things have happened to our country.
   Just in the past year, we have seen heat records, rainfall records and
   extreme weather – but also – quiet, long-term changes. And so, it is
   too late to prevent Norway or the world from changing. Because the
   changes are already in full swing.

   Nevertheless, things are not completely hopeless. According to a new
   report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
   Change (IPCC), we can still halt the rate of global warming.

   But to do so we must implement comprehensive changes to our society,
   according to the IPCC. We must change everything from our eating habits
   to how we build our cities. And we have to start now.

   If not – this is just the beginning.

   tnsScores
   [chasing-climate-change-1.14859595&cv=2.0&cj=1&c1=2&c2=
   23674236]

References

   Visible links:
   1. https://www.nrk.no/etikk/1.2843522
   2. https://www.nrk.no/hjelp/
   3. https://www.nrk.no/sok/

   Hidden links:
   5. http://nrk.no/