Climate Expert Warns ‘Climate Change Increases Extreme Rainfall And The Chance Of Floods’

An international research team at the University of East Anglia, have concluded that increases in extreme rainfall and associated flooding are projected to continue as global temperatures continue to rise. Efforts to limit warming to +1.5oC will help limit changes in extreme rainfall, though some societal adaptations will still be required.

They found that in small and in urban catchments in many parts of the world extreme rainfall has increased the chance of floods occurring and their magnitude, severely impacting local populations and infrastructure. 

Their analysis also suggests that increases in daily extreme rainfall rates have been observed globally and on continental scales through the 20th and early 21st centuries, and that global warming is driving increases in short-duration rainfall extremes in some regions. 

The study shows that human activity has an impact on increases in extreme daily rainfall, increasing the likelihood of some significant events.

The findings show that the risk of flash flooding on urban areas has likely increased in recent decades, due to the expanding impermeable landscape increasing surface runoff, and increased extreme rainfall, while increases are projected to continue.