The Bay Area had an unusually wet winter that brought multiple atmospheric rivers, flooding and felled trees. Now the rest of the world is experiencing some of the same as lethal flooding has simultaneously hit India, Japan, China, Turkey and the U.S. Northeast.
Scientists have long warned that more extreme rainfall is expected in a warming world. Climate pollutants such as carbon dioxide and methane hold more heat in the atmosphere, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. That results in storms dumping more precipitation with sometimes deadly outcomes.
Schools in New Delhi were forced to close Monday after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital, with landslides and flash floods killing at least 15 people over the last three days. In Japan, torrential rain pounded the southwest, causing floods and mudslides that left two people dead and at least six others missing.
Although destructive flooding in India, Japan, China, Turkey and the United States might seem like distant events, atmospheric scientists say they have this in common: Storms are forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality now. The additional warming that scientists predict is coming will only make it worse.
That’s because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which results in storms dumping more precipitation that can have deadly outcomes. Pollutants, especially carbon dioxide and methane, are heating up the atmosphere. Instead of allowing heat to radiate away from Earth into space, they hold onto it.
While climate change is not the cause of storms unleashing the rainfall, these storms are forming in an atmosphere that is becoming warmer and wetter.
Below are nine more photos that illustrate of the impact of the volatile weather around the world.
