Flooding
Flooding from global heating occurs because higher air and ocean water temperatures increase evaporation and cloud formation. At higher temperatures, air holds more moisture content which leads to an increase in precipitation intensity, duration and/or frequency. Flooding puts our crops, drinking supply, infrastructure, and safety at risk.
Read a roundup of the headlines below:
“The first words from Minister Fumio Kishida in the meeting we held were of solidarity with the people of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, who are victims by one of the largest floods we have ever known. Never before in the history of Brazil had there been such a quantity of rain in one single location,” Lula said.
Weather across South America is affected by the climate phenomenon El Niño, a periodic, naturally occurring event that warms surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region. In Brazil, El Niño has historically caused droughts in the north and intense rainfall in the south.
This year, the impacts of El Niño have been particularly dramatic, with a historic drought in the Amazon. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.”
AP News, Southern Brazil has been hit by the worst floods in more than 80 years. At least 39 people have died
“Connecting climate change to floods can be a tricky endeavor. Not only do myriad weather- and human-related factors play into whether or not a flood occurs, but limited data on the floods of the past make it difficult to measure them against the climate-driven trends of floods today.
However, as the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) noted in its special report on extremes, it is increasingly clear that climate change “has detectably influenced” several of the water-related variables that contribute to floods, such as rainfall and snowmelt. In other words, while our warming world may not induce floods directly, it exacerbates many of the factors that do. According to the Climate Science Special Report (issued as part of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which reports on climate change in America), more flooding in the United States is occurring in the Mississippi River Valley, Midwest, and Northeast, while U.S. coastal flooding has doubled in a matter of decades.”
NRDC, Flooding and Climate Change: Everything You Need to Know
“It has been a drenched 2022 for many parts of the world, at times catastrophically so. A year of disastrous flooding perhaps reached its nadir in Pakistan, where a third of the country was inundated by heavy rainfall from June, killing more than 1,000 people in what António Guterres, the UN secretary general, called an unprecedented natural disaster.
While floods are indeed natural phenomena, a longstanding result of storms, the human-induced climate crisis is amplifying their damage. Rising sea levels, driven by melting glaciers and the thermal expansion of water, are increasingly inundating coastal areas, while warmer temperatures are causing more moisture to accumulate in the atmosphere, which is then released as rain or snow.”
The Guardian, ‘Nature is striking back’: flooding around the world, from Australia to Venezuela
“Pakistan is facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis thanks in part to the actions of the developed world, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, as the country battles the worst floods in its history.
“Pakistan has to face the climate crisis and the world has to wake up to this reality that a poor country like Pakistan, which is not producing any carbon dioxide, which is not contributing to the greenhouse effect, is actually suffering the worst.”
“Developed nations must make the transitions and follow through on the pledges they have made at COP, from Paris to now,”said Sherry Rehman, PAKISTAN’S CLIMATE CHANGE MINISTER
Damage from the devastating floods is set to hit $10 billion, according to the Pakistani government, and has already killed more than 1,300 people, and destroyed 1.2 million homes, official data shows.”
CNBC, Pakistan is bearing the brunt of the climate crisis despite ‘small carbon footprint,’ minister says
“What we’ve witnessed this summer in Pakistan is nothing short of a climate catastrophe. First came the early heatwaves that brought an end to spring, reducing crop yields and increasing the rate of glacial melt. Then came the monsoon downpours that lasted for days on end and wreaked havoc across the country. One-third of Pakistan is now underwater. More than 1,200 people have been killed and more than 33 million people affected. And the monster monsoon isn’t over yet.
Experts say the heavy rainfall was caused by higher than average warming of the Arabian Sea. In Sindh province, which produces half the country’s food,90% of crops are ruined. More than 75% of Balochistan, which covers half of Pakistan, is partially or completely damaged. People’s homes and patches of land are inundated. Of the 650,000 pregnant women who have been directly affected in flood-hit areas, 73,000 will be delivering their babies this month. The sheer scale of destruction those children will be born into is unimaginable.”
The Guardian, Rich countries caused Pakistan’s catastrophic flooding. Their response? Inertia and apathy
“Flood maps used by the federal government are outdated, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or Fema, said on Sunday, considering a series of devastating floods caused by excessive rainfall induced by climate change.
Deanne Criswell told CNN’s State of the Union: “The part that’s really difficult right now is the fact that our flood maps don’t take into account excessive rain that comes in. And we are seeing these record rainfalls that are happening.”
Criswell was questioned about the situation in Jackson, Mississippi, where city water facilities failed in the aftermath of heavy flooding on the Pearl River, leaving residents without drinkable or usable water.
On Sunday, thunderstorms and heavy rain pounded parts of north-west Georgia, sparking flash floods. Local news reports showed roads under water and homeowners struggling.”
The Guardian, US flood maps outdated thanks to climate change, Fema director says
“The crisis that has hit Jackson, Miss., highlights the fragility of water systems across the country that will be increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the coming years.
As rainfall of historic proportions flooded Mississippi's Pearl River, a key pump at the O.B. Curtis water treatment plant, which provides the capital city with its drinking water, was unable to keep up, causing a severe drop in water pressure. Some 150,000 residents were left without safe drinking water. Although water pressure has been restored, a boil-water notice remains in effect.
Historic flooding and record droughts are already stressing water systems across the country, but as the threats to infrastructure posed by climate change intensify, experts warn that what happened in Jackson may be just the beginning.”
NPR, The crisis in Jackson shows how climate change is threatening water supplies
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