It seems that the harsh weather makes the main headlines almost every week, as disasters are increasingly exceeding the season, characterized by the number, and hitting the unprecedented places before.
Contracts from scientific research have proven that changing the climate caused by a person makes some disasters more dangerous and more frequent. Burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal releases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the Earth, as it raises the heat, warms the planet, and changes the conditions in which the harsh weather is formed. These changes occur More quickly than at any time in the last 800,000 years, according to climate records.
Below, we dismantle what experts know – and what they do not do – about the links between climate change and dugs.
Floods are one of the most common natural disasters that can destroy society. Between 2000 and 2019, approximately 1.6 billion people worldwide were affected by floods, according to Ticket Posted in Nature.
In the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been criticized Time and incomplete Maps that strongly reduce the number of people living in high -risk areas of floods. In 2018, a study was estimated 41 million Americans Living in the 100-year-old flooding area, or a 1 percent area for floods in any certain year-more than three times the estimate of FEMA of 13 million.
In 2023, for example, thousands of homes were flooded in Vermont during a historic storm, and some were not officially included on any flood plains maps they were immersion With 5 feet of water. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 flooding water About 200,000 homes or companyIt includes Tens of thousands of structures It was not classified as in the flood.
This lower results in fewer people with flood insurance policies more than those at risk of homeowners without financial support when it strikes disasters (regular home insurance does not cover flood water). And because there No federal requirements In order for the seller to reveal the previous floods, potential home buyers may not know that they must have a policy.
Floods can occur Almost anywhere Not only next to water bodies. Heavy rains can cause rivers and even small streams to flow. Strong winds can create storm storms, causing ocean water to submerge coastal societies. In urban and suburban areas, sudden floods occur when heavy rains cannot drain through paved concrete surfaces; Get in the streets and overcome sewage systems.
Climate change creates more extreme rainy storms, as the warmer air can carry more moisture than landing at the end. Put another method: Earth “sweat” more The warmer air also evaporates more water, then condenses and falls as purity. Models indicate that these storms can also booth For a long period of time, an area rolls more water than it can handle. This made the clay worse, these storms can reach after severe dehydration and thermal waves, a climate trend known as “Weather Whiplash”. When the soil becomes difficult and dry, He behaves more like concreteUnable to absorb excess water effectively as in normal conditions.
Warm oceans also affect rainfall: Mexico Bay water Fear shipping Helen Hurricane, for example, who achieved a decline in Florida before moving at an internal speed and Dill 40 trillion gallons of water Through the southeast and to Abalchia.
When rain becomes more extreme, experts have warned that the current infrastructure to combat floods will not be sufficient to protect societies in the future and fight under the current circumstances. the The annual infrastructure report for the American Civil Engineers Association Nation dams rates, dams, and storm water systems. This year, none of these categories received a higher degree than Dr. In 2025, the Trump administration withdrew funding these types of projects as it reflected the path of the climatic targets of the previous administration, so many planned improvements are linked to Legal battles. At the same time, other projects are studied Do not be released in The risks posed by climate change.
