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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/06/warmer-winters-and-more-flooding-will-be-the-norm-in-the-uk-scientists-warn>
"Hydrologist Hannah Cloke has a straightforward description of the inundation
that has just struck Britain. “Our decorations may have come down but the flood
warning map is currently lit up like a Christmas tree.”
And the immediate cause of this mayhem is clear. A sequence of storms this
autumn and winter – Babet, Ciarán, Debi, Elin, Fergus and Gerrit – have turned
Britain into “a sopping wet sponge”, as the Reading University researcher put
it.
Then came Storm Henk last week. Its intense rainfall had nowhere to go except
to pour into our rivers, which burst their banks spectacularly across the
country. More than 1,000 homes in England were flooded and some villages
totally cut off, with Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire and
Wiltshire worst affected.
This interpretation is supported by figures from the UK Centre for Ecology and
Hydrology, which last week revealed that the period between July and December
in 2023 was the wettest on record for the UK. As to the reason, there is a
simple explanation.
“Climate change is warming the atmosphere,” said Linda Speight of Oxford
University. “A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture so that when it rains,
the rainfall is heavier and more likely to lead to flooding. In particular, we
know that climate change is leading to warmer and wetter winters in the UK. We
will unfortunately experience more winters like this one in the future.”
Apart from triggering increases in our atmosphere’s moisture content, other
human-induced effects are contributing to increases in flooding, said Christian
Dunn of Bangor University. “Nature provided us with an answer to flooding –
wetlands. Marshes, bogs and fens act like giant sponges, soaking up vast
amounts of rainwater during wetter months and releasing it during drier
periods.”
However, Britain has dug up its peatland, drained its marshes and built on its
flood plains. As a result, the nation has lost much of its natural protection
from the effects of flooding. “We need to manage and conserve our country’s
existing wetlands and we need to create more of them,” added Dunn.
As to the future, meteorologists say there is more – much more – to come.
“Continued human-induced climate warming in future is likely to result in
further increases in peak river flows, which will cause more severe flooding
and impacts on people, property and public services,” said Steve Turner of the
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology."
Via Khurram Wadee and Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
