- Title: World should prepare for more extreme weather - climate scientist
- Date: 15th July 2021
- Summary: SCHULD, GERMANY (JULY 15, 2021) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS AERIALS OF VILLAGE DEVASTATED BY FLOOD EXETER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 15, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR SCIENTIST AT THE MET OFFICE, NIKOS CHRISTIDIS, SAYING: "In a warmer world the atmosphere can hold more moisture and of course if there is more water, more moisture in the atmosphere rainfall events can become more extreme, so we've seen before that extreme rainfall events have become more frequent because of climate change, but we don't know if this is indeed the case for this particular event without establishing it with the formal attribution analysis."
- Embargoed: 29th July 2021 17:51
- Keywords: Fire extreme weather floods heat waves
- Location: EXETER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, SCHULD, GERMANY, PEPINSTER, BELGIUM, MADRID, SPAIN, KLAMATH COUNTY, AND BEATTY OREGON, UNITED STATES, HELSINKI, FINLAND,
- City: EXETER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, SCHULD, GERMANY, PEPINSTER, BELGIUM, MADRID, SPAIN, KLAMATH COUNTY, AND BEATTY OREGON, UNITED STATES, HELSINKI, FINLAND,
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Environment,Europe,Weather
- Reuters ID: LVA001ELY9G7B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Even under 'best case' scenarios for emissions reductions the world will still have to get used to more extreme weather events, one scientist said on Thursday (July 15) as devastating flooding left at least 42 people dead in Germany.
The floods have caused Germany's worst mass loss of life in years. Flooding in 2002 killed 21 people in eastern Germany and more than 100 across the wider central European region.
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her dismay on Thursday.
In Belgium, around 10 houses collapsed in Pepinster after the river Vesdre flooded the eastern town and residents were evacuated from more than 1,000 homes.
Weather experts said that rain in the region over the past 24 hours had been unprecedented, as a near-stationary low-pressure weather system also caused sustained local downpours to the west in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
While other extreme weather events have been directly attributed to human-induced climate change, like the June heatwave that suffocated the western part of North America, the data still needs to be crunched to make the direct link between the weather seen in Germany and human activity, senior scientist at the British met office, Nikos Christidis, said.
Overall as a trend though the link between the burning of fossil fuels and other activities and extreme weather was clear, he added.
(Production: Natalie Thomas) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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