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Scientists have reported that climate change is causing increasingly severe and extreme weather events. Recent examples include fatal flooding in the US, India, and Japan, as well as an upcoming heatwave named Cerberus in southern Europe.
While severe floods during the summer monsoon season are not uncommon in India, scientists have observed that the intensity and timing of these monsoons have become more erratic due to climate change.
In Delhi, schools were closed due to landslides and flash floods caused by monsoon rains. Over 50 deaths were reported in northern India, including the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
In Japan, torrential rain led to mudslides, closed roads, and disrupted train services in the Kyushu and Chugoku regions. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings to nearly 2 million people urging them to take shelter.
In the US, Montpelier, Vermont experienced over 13cm of rain in a single day, resulting in the National Weather Service warning of severe thunderstorms, flash floods, and tornadoes in the state.
Dr. Peter Gleick, a senior fellow of the Pacific Institute in California, stated, “The recent torrential rains and severe flooding occurring around the world are worrisome signs that climate changes are beginning to spin out of control even faster than climate scientists have warned.”
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, climate change affects the intensity and frequency of rainfall. Warmer oceans increase evaporation, leading to more intense precipitation over land.
Dr. Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center, explained that increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere result in more heat being absorbed, leading to warmer oceans and air, increased evaporation, and stronger storms.
In a landmark UN report, scientists from around the world predicted changes to wetness, dryness, winds, snow, and ice due to global warming. The report highlighted that some areas would experience more intense rainfall and flooding, while others would face more severe droughts.
Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists emphasized, “What climate change is doing is supercharging weather events. Where there are dry periods, you are now getting megadroughts. This cycle is also very dangerous because when you get very dry land that is denuded of vegetation, then when you get the rainfall, you get mudslides.”
Emissions must be reduced by nearly half by 2030 to limit the temperature rise to 1.5C, the threshold at which irreversible planetary changes are expected. However, emissions continue to rise each year.
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