Scientists: Floods, Wildfires Are Signs of Global Warming
2021-07-20
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1Massive flooding killed at least 195 people in northern Europe last week.
2Massive wildfires are burning across much of the western United States.
3These extreme weather events, scientists warn, are clear signs of global warming.
4And they say more is needed to be done to fight climate change.
5In Europe, officials continue to find more bodies as floodwaters drop across affected areas of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
6So far, 164 are confirmed dead and hundreds are missing in the affected areas of Germany.
7At least 31 people died in Belgium.
8The rains that led to last week's floods were expected.
9However, politicians and weather forecasters were shocked by the amount of rain and the powerful, sudden floods that it caused.
10 Warnings of danger came too late for many people living along Germany's rivers.
11Local officials described the weather event as "an explosion of the water" that destroyed buildings, electricity, and cell phone networks.
12At one point, water went over the top of the Steinbach Reservoir dam in North Rhine-Westphalia state causing fear that the dam might break.
13It did not. The state governor said the dam was designed for a risk that might happen once every 10,000 years.
14"This was exceeded in the last few days," he said.
15Wim Thiery, a professor at Brussels University, spoke to the Associated Press Friday.
16He said of the flooding, "There is a clear link between extreme precipitation occurring and climate change."
17Across the Atlantic, a different kind of extreme weather is happening in Canada and the western United States.
18For the second straight year, Death Valley in California has recorded temperatures as high as 54 degrees Celsius.
19The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, reported that the U.S. Pacific Northwest and western Canada experienced record highs in late June.
20The extremely high temperature is part of the change that has made North America warmer and drier in the past 30 years leading to more wildfires.
21On Monday, the National Interagency Fire Center said wildfire activity continues in 13 American states where 80 large fires have burned more than 475,000 hectares of land.
22The Bootleg Fire, one of the largest in Oregon's history, has already burned more than 1,210 square kilometers.
23Firefighters said such wildfire conditions are more usual in late summer or autumn.
24Stefan Rahmstorf teaches ocean physics at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
25He said the recent heat records set in the U.S. and Canada "are so extreme that they would be virtually impossible without global warming."
26NOAA reports that in keeping with Earth's warming trend, the month of June this year is the fifth-warmest June in the 142-year global climate record.
27Along with North America, June temperatures also reached record highs in Africa.
28Europe's June temperature was the second-highest on record and Asia's recorded temperature in June also came in as its second warmest tying with 2010.
29Climate scientists say with every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the air can take in 7 percent more humidity.
30It can hold water longer, leading to a hot and dry condition in North America.
31But it also leads to an increase in huge rainfall in Europe.
32Diederik Samsom is a leading member of the European Commission.
33He said, "A few years ago, you had to point to a point in the future or far away on the planet to talk about climate change. It's happening now - here."
34Last week, the commission proposed a 10-year plan to cut by 55 percent the release of waste gases that cause global warming.
35Some member states oppose the plan.
36In January, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement.
37The agreement restricts the release of gasses by developed nations.
38Even if global warming gas releases are greatly reduced in the coming years, the amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere means extreme weather is going to become more likely.
39And experts say we will need to be prepared for these extreme events.
40"We need to make our built environment - buildings, outdoor spaces, cities - more resilient to climate change," said Lamia Messari-Becker, a professor of engineering at the University of Siegen.
41I'm Caty Weaver.
1Massive flooding killed at least 195 people in northern Europe last week. Massive wildfires are burning across much of the western United States. These extreme weather events, scientists warn, are clear signs of global warming. And they say more is needed to be done to fight climate change. 2Floods in Europe 3In Europe, officials continue to find more bodies as floodwaters drop across affected areas of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. So far, 164 are confirmed dead and hundreds are missing in the affected areas of Germany. At least 31 people died in Belgium. 4The rains that led to last week's floods were expected. However, politicians and weather forecasters were shocked by the amount of rain and the powerful, sudden floods that it caused. Warnings of danger came too late for many people living along Germany's rivers. Local officials described the weather event as "an explosion of the water" that destroyed buildings, electricity, and cell phone networks. 5At one point, water went over the top of the Steinbach Reservoir dam in North Rhine-Westphalia state causing fear that the dam might break. It did not. The state governor said the dam was designed for a risk that might happen once every 10,000 years. 6"This was exceeded in the last few days," he said. 7Wim Thiery, a professor at Brussels University, spoke to the Associated Press Friday. He said of the flooding, "There is a clear link between extreme precipitation occurring and climate change." 8Record heat, wildfires in North America 9Across the Atlantic, a different kind of extreme weather is happening in Canada and the western United States. 10For the second straight year, Death Valley in California has recorded temperatures as high as 54 degrees Celsius. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, reported that the U.S. Pacific Northwest and western Canada experienced record highs in late June. 11The extremely high temperature is part of the change that has made North America warmer and drier in the past 30 years leading to more wildfires. 12On Monday, the National Interagency Fire Center said wildfire activity continues in 13 American states where 80 large fires have burned more than 475,000 hectares of land. The Bootleg Fire, one of the largest in Oregon's history, has already burned more than 1,210 square kilometers. Firefighters said such wildfire conditions are more usual in late summer or autumn. 13Stefan Rahmstorf teaches ocean physics at the University of Potsdam in Germany. He said the recent heat records set in the U.S. and Canada "are so extreme that they would be virtually impossible without global warming." 14What caused these extreme events? 15NOAA reports that in keeping with Earth's warming trend, the month of June this year is the fifth-warmest June in the 142-year global climate record. 16Along with North America, June temperatures also reached record highs in Africa. Europe's June temperature was the second-highest on record and Asia's recorded temperature in June also came in as its second warmest tying with 2010. 17Climate scientists say with every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the air can take in 7 percent more humidity. It can hold water longer, leading to a hot and dry condition in North America. But it also leads to an increase in huge rainfall in Europe. 18What to do? 19Diederik Samsom is a leading member of the European Commission. He said, "A few years ago, you had to point to a point in the future or far away on the planet to talk about climate change. It's happening now - here." 20Last week, the commission proposed a 10-year plan to cut by 55 percent the release of waste gases that cause global warming. Some member states oppose the plan. 21In January, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement. The agreement restricts the release of gasses by developed nations. 22Even if global warming gas releases are greatly reduced in the coming years, the amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere means extreme weather is going to become more likely. And experts say we will need to be prepared for these extreme events. 23"We need to make our built environment - buildings, outdoor spaces, cities - more resilient to climate change," said Lamia Messari-Becker, a professor of engineering at the University of Siegen. 24I'm Caty Weaver. 25Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press. Caty Weaver was the editor. 26________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28global - adj. involving the entire world 29exceed - v. to go beyond the limit of something 30precipitation - n. water that falls to the ground 31occur - v. to happen 32virtually - adv. very nearly 33trend - n. a general direction of change 34resilient - adj. able to return to original shape