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Flooding in Europe Shows Climate Impacts

How many disasters will it take for people to believe?

It is not just the United States that is experiencing more frequent and more severe weather and the resulting damages that come from disasters.

See this article: “Germany mounts huge rescue effort after floods leave dozens dead and many more missing.” I expect that with this disaster coming close to national elections in Germany, the political debate about climate change and what to do as a nation will intensify. Nothing like a disaster to put an exclamation point on the issue!

Here is a quote from the linked article above:

With climate change comes warmer air holding more water vapor

“The extreme rainfall was the result of a slow-moving area of low pressure, which allowed a conveyor belt of warm and moist air to fuel powerful thunderstorms and bring heavy, long-lasting rainfall, according to the German national weather service, DWD.

“Intense rainfall rates are becoming more common in the warming climate, as warmer air can hold more water vapor that is available to fall as rain.

    “‘These kind of high-energy, sudden summer torrents of rain are exactly what we expect in our rapidly heating climate,’ according to Hannah Cloke, a professor of hydrology at the University of Reading. ‘The fact that other parts of the northern hemisphere are currently suffering record-breaking heatwaves and fires should serve as a reminder of just how much more dangerous our weather could become in an ever-warmer world,’ Cloke said.”
    Eric Holdeman is a nationally known emergency manager. He has worked in emergency management at the federal, state and local government levels. Today he serves as the Director, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR), which is part of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER). The focus for his work there is engaging the public and private sectors to work collaboratively on issues of common interest, regionally and cross jurisdictionally.