Articles tagged with "flooding"
Climate Change Made Texas Floods 20% to 30% More Severe - CleanTechnica
The catastrophic floods that struck Central Texas in July 2025 resulted in at least 120 deaths, numerous missing persons, widespread homelessness, and billions of dollars in economic damage. Scientific climate attribution studies have established that human-caused climate change made these floods 20% to 30% more severe than they would have been otherwise. This increased severity is linked to a roughly 7% rise in rainfall intensity driven by warmer air holding more moisture—a relationship explained by the Clausius-Clapeyron principle, which states that for every degree Celsius of warming, air can hold about 7% more moisture. Since global temperatures have risen about 1.2°C since pre-industrial times, rainfall events have become heavier and more intense. This seemingly modest increase in precipitation has disproportionately large impacts on flooding. Hydrological research shows that a 7% increase in rainfall can cause peak floodwater levels to rise by 20% to 30%, turning previously manageable floods into life-threatening disasters. For example
energyclimate-changefloodingprecipitationenvironmental-impacthydrologyglobal-warmingFloods In Texas — It's The Climate, Stupid! - CleanTechnica
The article discusses the recent devastating floods in Texas that resulted in over 100 deaths, emphasizing that the root cause is climate change rather than political or administrative failures. It highlights the extraordinary nature of the event, noting that Kerrville, Texas, experienced about 12 inches of rain in just one hour, causing the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in 45 minutes—figures described as "off the charts" and unprecedented. The article explains that climate change has increased atmospheric temperatures, allowing the air to hold significantly more moisture, which in turn fuels heavier rainfall and stronger storms. This is supported by scientific principles like the Clausius–Clapeyron equation, which quantifies how warmer air can carry more water vapor, and observations that warmer oceans evaporate more moisture, intensifying precipitation events. Furthermore, the article points out that Texas is particularly vulnerable to flooding due to its proximity to the warm Gulf of Mexico, which supplies abundant tropical moisture. The recent rains were also exacerbated by moisture
energyclimate-changefloodingextreme-weatherenvironmental-impactglobal-warmingprecipitationEuropean State of the Climate: Striking East-West Contrast & Widespread Flooding in Europe’s Warmest Year
climate-changeEuropefloodingweather-patternsenvironmental-impactEast-West-contrastglobal-warming