A German cyclist riding solo around the world to highlight “the existential danger of climate change” has been killed by a suspected lightning strike. 

Florian Berg, 29, was cycling through the Andes in Peru when he was caught in a storm, as reported by Need to Know. Having contacted the German Embassy to warn that he was trapped, the alarm was raised on Sunday 18th January when his GPS stopped transmitting. Rescue teams subsequently found Berg dead in his tent beside his cycling equipment, aided by the guidance of local shepherds who had seen Florian in the hours before his death. His body has now been taken to a coroner for autopsy.

Berg, a former atmospheric chemist, set off east from Germany in March 2024. He travelled without assistance, writing on his blog of the pride he felt in fitting all his necessary belongings into five panniers attached to his bike. He also retrospectively updated details of his journey to social media. 

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Whilst his last YouTube videos were of Australia and New Zealand, highlights on Instagram stories show his updates slowed down as he travelled south through the Americas.

In one of his last Instagram posts he described how “time moves differently when you live day by day, when progress is measured in small efforts, headwinds, doubts, and the decision to keep going anyway.

“This year didn’t give me answers. But it gave me clarity. About time. About resilience. And about responsibility -
for how we live, move, and protect the only home we have.”

Movingly, in the last Instagram story that Berg highlighted, he wrote “I’m overwhelmed”.

“I don’t really have a place to retreat to, a space where I can just exist […] I still haven’t found a real mechanism to deal with the constant sensory overload.”

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Confirming Berg’s death, Peruvian authorities urged tourists against visiting high altitude areas of the Áncash region during the rainy season. In addition, they warned visitors to not camp in open fields, avoid mountain peaks and metal objects, as reported by German newspaper Bild.

Besides wishing to illustrate the effects of climate change, Berg wished to raise money for myalgic encephalomyelitis, better known as chronic fatigue syndrome, describing the condition as “still hardly researched”. However he had not set up a fundraising page by the time of his death.

Berg’s journey had also been eventful before reaching the Americas. In Pakistan, he was robbed of his wallet and valuables whilst camping on the roadside. The Punjab Government subsequently gave Berg Rs500,000 (£1331) as a goodwill gesture. He was also profiled by ABC when he visited Tasmania.