Klimakatastrophe was selected by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache as the “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year) in 2007.
Klimakatastrophe is a word that became popular in 2007 to describe the effects of climate change. Whether it be natural disasters, global warming, or melting icecaps – they are all grouped as part of the Klimakatastrophe.
Although environmental issues have played an important role for the last 20 years in Germany, a number of events in the past few years and media coverage such as the film Eine unbequeme Wahrheit (An Inconvenient Truth), have served to highlight the them even further.
To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:
(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)