Climate change is causing floods to become more severe across northern Britain, a major study has found.Data from thousands of locations across Europe found flood events are becoming increasingly severe in the north-west – including the UK – but are decreasing in severity in the south and east of the continent.The extent of climate change on the severity of flooding has been previously unclear due to a lack of data.Researchers analysed records from 3,738 river flood measurement stations across Europe over five decades.Northern England and southern Scotland have seen an increase in flooding of more than 11%, while the study observed a 23% decrease in Russia.The UK has seen a pattern of severe flooding over the past 10 years which the Environment Agency says is linked to an increase in extreme weather events.The study, published in the journal Nature, suggests that an increase in autumn and winter rainfall caused by climate change has led to increasing floods in the UK and north-western Europe.In southern Europe, flood levels are decreasing due to declining precipitation and water temperatures are causing an increase in evaporation of water in soil, the report claims.Decreasing snow cover in eastern Europe, also caused by warmer temperatures, have also led to decreasing floods in the area, according to the authors.They conclude that the data demonstrates the need to consider climate change impacts when designing flood management strategies.Lead author Professor Gunter Bloschl said: ‘We already knew that climate change is shifting the timing of floods in a year, but the key question had been does climate change also control the magnitude of flood events?‘Our study did in fact find there are consistent patterns of flood change across Europe and these are in line with predicted climate change impacts, such as a contrast between increasing severity of flooding in the north and decreases in the south.’Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: ‘Climate change means the threat of flooding and rate of coastal change will increase significantly.‘To prepare for this risk, as a nation we need to move from a strategy of protection and building higher flood defences to improving the resilience of our communities and our infrastructure, strengthening our ability to cope with flooding and coastal change when it does happen.‘Our new flood strategy sets out a long-term approach to tackling the effects of the climate emergency, as well as the actions we can take in the short term. The link between climate change and coastal flooding due to sea level rise is undisputed. Extreme Precipitation and Climate Change Extreme precipitation events have produced more rain and become more common since the 1950s in many regions of the world, including much of the United States. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
Flooding can be caused by heavy rainfall, rising sea levels coupled with high tides and/or storm surge, faster and earlier snowmelt, or when dams or levees break. Flooding can occur along the ocean, rivers, or lakes, and it can occur quickly or over a long period, lasting days, weeks, or longer. Climate change will cause more extreme wet and dry seasons, researchers find ... focused mostly on how climate change will affect precipitation. ... Agency says is linked to an increase in extreme weather events. The influence of climate change on river flooding is more complex because of the many factors that affect riverine floods including local land use, land-cover changes, and water management. Scientific studies indicate that extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change.
With continued climate change, future precipitation is expected to increase in some regions and seasons, but decrease in others. This chapter focuses on observed changes in temperature, precipitation, storms, floods, and droughts. The increase in extreme precipitation in North America in recent decades is consistent with climate models that include human-caused climate change, the study found. The combination of melting land ice and the expansion of ocean water as it warms has significantly increased the incidence of both high tide floods and the reach of storm surge - the temporary increase in sea level due to stormy conditions. For this reason, scientists point to ways that climate change increases flood risk through changes in major flood precursors such as extreme precipitation, total precipitation, and snow/ice melt:The effect of climate change has been identified on many of the most infamous flooding disasters of the past few decades.Climate change driven sea level rise has increased the likelihood of storm surge flooding.In the Midwest and along the Mississippi River Valley, significant increases in flooding are well-documented, and the change is likely due to increases in total precipitation linked to climate change.Heavy precipitation events in most parts of the US have increased in both intensity and frequency since 1901. Climate change is increasing the risk of flooding in the US by rising sea levels, increasing extreme precipitation and total precipitation, intensifying storm precipitation, and increasing rates of snow and ice melt.Worsening floods due to climate change are putting a growing number of inland and coastal communities at risk. The amount of extreme precipitation for a short-duration (a day or less) is projected to increase, with larger increase corresponding to stronger warming. The challenges posed by climate change, such as more intense storms, frequent heavy precipitation, heat waves, drought, extreme flooding, and higher sea levels could significantly alter the types and magnitudes of hazards faced by communities and the emergency management professionals serving them. Emergency Management in a Changing Climate . Climate change is increasing the risk of flooding in the US by A flood is an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry, and a flash flood is when flooding occurs less than 6 hours after an extreme rainfall event. One reason the IPCC gives for lack of evidence on a link between man-made climate change and flooding is that human activity affects the way water behaves after it falls.