Climate change has doubled the likelihood of flooding in Central Europe this month. An attribution analysis by the international team of scientists, World Weather Attribution (WWA), examined the impact of climate change on the heavy rainfall and flooding experienced this month in European countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia.
The analysis was conducted by 24 scientists from meteorological institutions and universities in the UK, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the US. According to the analysis, climate change caused by human activities has doubled the likelihood of floods in Central Europe, which killed 24 people. Rainfall intensity in the region has also increased by 7 percent due to climate change.
If the world continues to burn fossil fuels and global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius, scientists have found that rain events similar to those in Central Europe will become 5 percent more intense and 50 percent more frequent, bringing the risk of devastating floods, and warned of rising costs.
“CLIMATE CHANGE IS STRIKING EUROPE”
Joyce Kimutai, a researcher at the Department of Climate Change and Environment at the Grantham Institute of Imperial College London, stated that climate change had an impact on the rains that flooded Central Europe, and said, “These floods have once again revealed the devastating consequences of fossil fuel-based heating. Until oil, gas and coal are replaced by renewable energy, such rains will become more intense and cause floods that damage the economy.”
Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, also drew attention to the extreme drought in southern Italy and the deadly floods in Central Europe following the forest fires in Portugal, saying:
“Climate change is devastating Europe, but politicians across the continent are trying to pull back on their climate commitments. Climate change is an existential threat, especially for the poorest in society, and all Europeans need to know that tackling it will make their lives much better. Cutting out fossil fuels creates jobs, lowers energy bills, makes cities healthier places to live and reduces the risk of deadly floods. This is not a matter of technology, we know how to reduce demand and replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.”
THE MOST SEVERE FLOOD DISASTER IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, INSURANCE COST 2.2 BILLION EUROS
Initial estimates of insured damage from floods in Central and Eastern Europe are around €2.2 billion, according to S&P Global Ratings’ analysis of insured damage in the region, making these floods the worst in a decade.
According to the analysis, the floods could also have long-term effects on the insurance industry. (AA)
