Climate Change Doubles Risk of Floods Similar to Those in Central Europe, Report Finds

WARSAW – A report released on Wednesday indicates that climate change has doubled the likelihood of intense downpours such as those that recently caused severe flooding in central Europe. Researchers are urging policymakers to take decisive action to combat global warming.

This month’s flooding is the most severe that central Europe has experienced in nearly two decades, resulting in the deaths of 24 individuals. The aftermath has left towns covered in mud and debris, with significant damage to buildings and collapsed bridges, resulting in repair costs that could total billions of dollars.

The report, produced by an international coalition of scientists known for examining the links between climate change and extreme weather, noted that the four days of rain from Storm Boris represented the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the region. The findings suggest that climate change has made such extreme rainfall events at least twice as likely, increasing their intensity by 7%.

Joyce Kimutai, a researcher at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute and a co-author of the study, emphasized the urgency of addressing reliance on fossil fuels. "These floods underscore the catastrophic impacts of fossil fuel-driven warming," she stated. "Unless we transition away from oil, gas, and coal towards renewable energy, storms like Boris will result in even more severe rainfall, leading to economically devastating floods."

The report explains that the unique weather patterns that contributed to Storm Boris, which include cold air from the Alps interacting with warm air over the Mediterranean and Black Seas, are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change.

In today’s climate, with an increase of approximately 1.3 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, such storms are projected to occur roughly once every 100 to 300 years. However, if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius, expected by the 2050s, these storms could happen 50% more often and produce at least 5% more rainfall.