Scientific researchers from countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have explored the link between climate change and the heavy rains that led to floods in the province of Limburg, Belgium and Germany.
Researchers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, the United States and the United Kingdom say severe flooding in Western Europe has increased the likelihood of them being caused by climate change.
Climate is rapidly warming
“All available evidence – together with observations for a broader area and different regional climate models – that human-induced climate change has increased the likelihood and severity of such an event and that these changes will persist in a rapidly warming climate,” the statement read. Difficult conclusion for researchers.
From July 12 to 15, heavy rainfall led to severe flooding in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, in Luxembourg, and along the Meuse and some of its tributaries in Belgium and the Netherlands.
saturated soil
At the time of heavy rains, the soil was already partially saturated. Some valleys are very narrow with steep slopes that lead to funnel-like effects during severe floods. The flood killed at least 184 people in Germany and 38 in Belgium and caused significant damage to infrastructure, including homes, highways, railways and bridges.
Using published, peer-reviewed methods, we analyzed how human-induced climate change affected maximum precipitation for one and two days in the summer season (April-September) in two small areas where recent floods were most severe in Ahr. The Erft region (Germany) and the Maas Mountains (Belgium) and everywhere in the greater region including Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Main resultsThe main findings of the researchers are as follows:
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