How global warming is linked to devastating disasters in Europe. Details
Europe experienced a series of devastating floods last week, the latest of which killed 26 people and caused more than €1 billion in damage. At the same time, the Old World experienced another record-breaking hot summer. In parallel, natural disasters are occurring all over the planet. The consequences of climate change have become an issue of the present from a problem of the future. What is the relationship between global warming and earthquakes and what to expect in the future - in the analysis of "Izvestia".
Natural disasters in the world have become larger in scale
- Last week Central Europe was flooded due to the storm "Boris". In Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary and Italy, rivers overflowed their banks and landslides occurred due to prolonged rainfall. At least 26 people have died, with several more missing. People not only drowned in their own homes and cars - because of the sharp cold died a tourist in the Alps, during the strong winds crashed an airplane with three people on board.
- Before that, typhoon "Yagi" occurred in Southeast Asia, which also caused severe floods. More than 600 people died, more than 2 thousand were injured. The typhoon caused $15 billion worth of damage, ranking third in total damage in the Pacific Ocean.
- Brazil has been hit by the worst drought in recorded history. It has affected 59% of the territory of South America's largest country. Many rivers, which were a source of water and a means of transportation for local residents, have disappeared. Forest fires spread over an area of 20,000 square kilometers.
- Since March, floods have continued in Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing more than 1,000 people in the first days. Their cause was the abnormally dry winter in the region, due to which the soil lost permeability and did not absorb water during the heavy rains.
- In summer, Europe experienced another abnormal heat wave. Peak temperatures in nine countries exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, in another eight - 35 degrees Celsius. At least 20 people died. The summer of 2024 was the third consecutive summer and the fifth in the last seven years when the number of victims due to the heat wave numbered in the dozens.
- In May, a powerful landslide hit Engu province in Papua New Guinea. The deaths of 160 people have been confirmed, up to 2,000 people could have died in total. The landslide was caused by prolonged heavy rain, which caused flooding in other mountainous areas.
- In Russia in 2024, the most notable cataclysm was the spring floods in the Orenburg, Kurgan, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions. The water level on the Ural River and its tributaries rose by 10 meters, which led to breaches of protective dams. Also in summer, hurricanes Edgar and Orkhan hit Moscow, accompanied by heavy downpours.
- The area of forest fires in Russia has been growing recently: if in 2022 the area covered by fire was 3.3 million hectares, in 2023 it reached 4.5 million hectares, and in the incomplete 2024 - 7.1 million hectares. This summer strong fires were extinguished in the south of the country. We wrote about it in detail here.
What caused the natural disasters
- Scientists agree that natural disasters, their frequency and destructiveness were a consequence of climate change caused by global warming. It has led to both an increase in the average temperature on the planet and sharper single jumps. Higher average temperatures cause more frequent wildfires and droughts.
- Global warming also causes more evaporation of moisture, which creates conditions for more heavy rains and leads to the formation of powerful storms. In addition, cyclones and typhoons are formed precisely in the warm waters of the world ocean, and the larger their area, the more often hurricanes occur.
- A striking example of the connection between global warming and cataclysms was the recent discovery of scientists who solved the mystery of a long series of seismic shocks in September 2023. Then sensors around the world recorded earthquakes and the resulting long-lasting vibration, their source was not found. Due to global warming, a glacier in Greenland melted, keeping a 1,200-meter-high rock from collapsing. The falling rock caused a tsunami up to 200 meters high inside the fjord. The resonance triggered by the water hitting the shore was read by sensors as an earthquake. This is the first time a landslide of this magnitude has been recorded in eastern Greenland.
- In the future, global warming could lead to even more serious consequences for the entire planet. Climate change and subsequent cataclysms will affect entire ecosystems and biodiversity. Many species of organisms will either disappear or change habitats.
- The same is true for humans. A further increase in temperature will not only harm human health on a global scale, but will also lead to forced migration from areas that have become uninhabitable due to fires, floods, lack of water and food sources. This process will also have its own economic consequences, causing a decline in living standards. Already, environmental factors are killing about 13 million people a year.
What caused global warming
- Global warming is caused by an increase in the greenhouse effect due to the formation of excess greenhouse gases from human activities. They let in solar radiation but absorb the Earth's infrared radiation, creating a comfortable temperature in the low atmosphere for humanity. Without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature at the planet's surface would be around -18 degrees instead of the 15 degrees above zero we see today.
- The accumulation of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor and methane breaks the balance created over millions of years, increases the greenhouse effect and raises the average global temperature.
- The main contributor to the temperature rise is the burning of fossil fuels for electricity generation and transportation, which leads to both a direct increase in temperature and the production of carbon dioxide. Safe in this respect and renewable energy sources so far only provide a quarter of the generation needed for all of humanity. Other industrial processes also produce greenhouse gases: mining, processing, construction and food production. Deforestation reduces the release of stored carbon dioxide.
- Global warming at the same time provokes increased electricity consumption due to air conditioners, leads to more frequent fires and steam generation during droughts.
