ISLAMABAD (TDI): Climate change has doubled the chance of floods like in central Europe this month that resulted into the death of 24 people and caused heavy damages.
According to a report from World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists, the rainfall brought by Storm Boris was the heaviest ever recorded in the region.
Researchers found that climate change not only increased the likelihood of these storms but also intensified them, leading to rainfall that is 7% heavier than it would have been otherwise.
Floods in Central Europe
It says that Recent floods in central Europe, described as the worst in two decades, have left 24 people dead and caused extensive damage, with repair costs running into billions of dollars.
Read More: Europe floods caused by human induced climate change says report
Joyce Kimutai, a researcher at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute and a co-author of the study, stated that these floods highlight the worsening results of fossil fuel-driven warming.
Kimutai said that we need to replace oil, gas, and coal with renewable energy.
The report notes that while the specific weather patterns that caused the storm were unusual, climate change has made such extreme events more frequent and severe.
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Currently, storms of this magnitude are expected to occur once every 100 to 300 years, given the current 1.3 degrees Celsius of warming from pre-industrial levels.
However, if temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius—projected to happen by the 2050s—such storms could occur 50% more frequently and deliver at least 5% more rainfall.
The findings underscore the urgent need for action to address global warming and its impacts on extreme weather events.
