Rems-Murr district is planning drastic savings: Who is affected?

Rems-Murr district is planning drastic savings: Who is affected?

The Rems-Murr district is facing significant financial cuts that will affect various groups and services. How zvw.de reports, the district is planning savings in the district budget, which will affect drivers, public transport users, those wanting to build, orchardists and wine gardeners as well as parents of small children. Schools, town hall bosses, clinics and district administration employees are also affected by the planned cuts. The district administrator announced that he would present and discuss the savings proposals next Monday.

A central point of these savings efforts is the district's withdrawal from financing hail planes. These aircraft are often used to reduce hail damage to fruit and grapes, which is of great importance in local agriculture. Loud swr.de Damage of around 117 million euros was suffered from storms and hail not only in the Rems-Murr district, but throughout Baden-Württemberg in 2022. This shows the importance of hail protection in the region.

Hail flies and their effectiveness

Hail planes have been in use in some regions of Baden-Württemberg for over 40 years, especially in the greater Stuttgart area. They are intended to prevent the formation of large hailstones by spraying a silver iodide-acetone mixture into thunderclouds. However, this method of hail protection is viewed critically by scientists. Hail researcher Michael Kunz speaks of a lack of scientific evidence as to whether the use of hail fliers actually has a significant effect on minimizing hail damage.

The hail defense in the Rems-Murr district takes the view that the method reduces the consequences of hail damage. Nevertheless, there are also critical voices who fear that weather modification by hailstorms can trigger new dangers such as heavy rain and flash floods. In addition, hail protection in the Rems-Murr district requires considerable financial resources: In 2023, costs of over 360,000 euros were incurred, with municipalities and districts paying almost 140,000 euros, and the Württembergische Gemeinde-Versicherung invested 450,000 euros in two hail fliers.

Historical and current perspectives on hail defense

Historical approaches to hail defense, as described in Wikipedia recorded date back to ancient times. In the past, practices such as weather ringing and weather shooting were used to combat the threat of hail. Today, the use of aircraft to combat hail is the most common method, but it is controversial. Despite these discussions, progress in hail forecasting is expected, particularly through new weather forecast models from the German Weather Service (DWD).

The upcoming financial cuts in the Rems-Murr district could not only put a strain on the local economy, but also endanger agriculture, which is dependent on hail protection. The dialogue about future hail defense strategies and the associated costs remains current and necessary.