Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement

Climate change will make flooding even worse

Without urgent action, climate change will continue to cause severe flooding, warns an international group of researchers. 

In a paper published in ScienceBrief Review, researchers analysed over 170 peer-reviewed scientific papers and found that extreme rainfall has increased the chance of floods occurring and their magnitude.

The analysis also suggests that increases in daily extreme rainfall rates have been observed globally and on continental scales throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The findings show that the risk of flash flooding on urban areas has also likely increased in recent decades, due to the expanding impermeable landscape increasing surface runoff, and increased extreme rainfall.

Lead author of the study, Dr Stephen Blenkinsop, from Newcastle University’s School of Engineering, said: ‘Global warming means the atmosphere can hold more moisture and could also change the way storms behave. More intense rainfall extremes coupled with changes in other factors could increase the frequency and severity of flooding in many regions.

‘Even if action is taken to limit the extent of global warming we will need to improve our understanding of how extreme rainfall and flooding will change in the future in order to adapt our cities and other communities to more frequent or more extreme events.’

Adam Smith, from School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, added: ‘This is an active area of research and our review highlights that the science is becoming increasingly clear on how climate change influences extreme rainfall and how that combines with other factors to increase the chance of floods in many places.’

In related news, a report published by the environment, food and rural affairs select committee has criticised the government’s vague flood defence plans and warns that 5.2m properties are currently at risk from flooding.

It also highlights the need to provide long-term funding for the maintenance of existing and new flood defences.

In addition, the report examines the mental health impacts of severe flooding and calls for an action plan addressing this alongside the economic and physical effects.

Photo credit – Chris Gallagher

Pippa Neill
Reporter.

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest


0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Help us break the news – share your information, opinion or analysis
Back to top