Two men paddle a canoe made of zinc tiles and styrofoam down a flooded street in the Vila Farrapos neighborhood in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on May 29, 2024.
Scientists say that climate change made flooding twice as likely
By Climate Spotlight Staff
Sao Paulo, BRAZIL, June 4, 2024
On Monday, a team of international scientists reported that the deadly flooding in southern Brazil was compounded by human-caused climate change and the natural El Nino phenomenon. Approximately 170 persons have lost their lives and another 580,000 have been displaced by the disaster classified as an extremely rare event.
The flooding inundated the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul in the latter parts of May – crippling local authorities and putting the region in a state of emergency.
Experts from the World Weather Attribution have said that the heavy rainfall, which submerged entire towns, is expected to occur once every 100 – 250 years. Climate Change, however, has increased the chances of these devastating weather events.
Combining weather observations and climate models, it is estimated that because of climate change, the flooding event in southern Brazil was made 6 – 9 percent more intense.
The study from WWA states that human-caused climate change driven by the continual burning of fossil fuels is contributing to the intensity and frequency of these extreme events.
The outgoing El Nino played a significant role in the flooding, estimates are the it caused the probability of the event to increase by a factor of 2 -5, while making 3 to 10 percent more intense.
