Sven Plöger demonstrates with expertise and storytelling enthusiasm how crucial the mountains are for our climatic future. A book that goes far beyond sea level. It's a must-read for city dwellers and flatland residents alike! Two prominent authors present fascinating facts and backgrounds in a vivid, serious, and calm manner: In their book, which spent nearly 20 weeks on the Spiegel bestseller list, meteorologist Sven Plöger and science journalist Rolf Schlenker explain how the Alps act as a regulator for various weather phenomena even in flatlands. They discuss how heat records, dry spells, Saharan dust, heavy rainfall, foehn storms, and hurricane gusts occur. They explore the survival strategies of alpine animals, how the evolutionary memory of alpine plants works, and what local ideas exist to combat climate change. Five vegetation zones stretch over 5000 kilometers from the Arctic to the Mediterranean: in the Alpine region, they are condensed to just under 5000 meters in altitude. The authors report on how this mountain range acts as a transcontinental barrier in this book. They present facts and backgrounds from meteorology in a vivid and serious manner, illuminating the fascinating dynamics of mountains, weather, and climate. Along the way, they meet dairymaids and mountain guides, alpine botanists and glacier researchers, avalanche survivors and tourism planners. From Appenzellerland to South Tyrol, from Innerschwyz to Vorarlberg, from Zugspitze to Mont Blanc, they introduce regions that shape our daily lives – even in distant urban areas and large cities.