Extreme Rain = Extreme Flooding
Extreme Rain = Extreme Flooding
Need-to-Know: Measurements show rainfall is increasingly torrential
Extreme rainfall was the first well-documented impact of climate change going back at least 30 years. Months of precipitation often come down like a waterfall over a few hours or days. Flooding is inevitable and unstoppable, even for the most expensive infrastructure.
Need-to-Know: Our atmosphere now holds 10% more water.
Warmer air can hold more moisture. Our atmosphere now holds nearly 10% more water vapor = more extreme rainfall.
Warmer air has increased evaporation rates. The oceans provide most of the water vapor found over land = more flooding.
If climate change is a shark, water is its teeth.
Our carbon pollution has super-sized those very sharp teeth as you can see below.
Need-to-Know: The global water cycle has been destablized by carbon pollution.
Air over the oceans contains more water vapor which makes more water available for heavy-rainfall events including atmospheric rivers and monsoons. At the same time, when, where and how much rain falls has become increasingly unpredictable.
We are now in an era of weather whiplash—going from extreme flooding to extreme drought.
For more on this see: Need-to-Know: A Fundamental Change to the Earth’s Water Cycle is Underway
So what to do?
Conserve and restore natural systems so they can moderate water flows as well as store water for dry periods.
Urban areas can replace hard surfaces like pavement with green space and other permeable/porous surfaces.
Need-to-Know: Coping with extreme water requires collaboration with nature, not control
The key to coping with increasing extremes of flood and drought is to find ways to slow water on land to allow the natural water-land interaction to take place, according to Erica Gies author of the highly recommended book, Water Always Wins.
Erica says that in this era of extreme water, we need to focus on collaboration and partnership with water rather than control.
For more on this see Extreme Water Requires Collaboration Not Control
We have to stop thinking we can control nature and learn to be good partners. A good partner would cut carbon pollution as fast as possible to protect nature and ourselves.
Until next time. Be well.
Stephen