An overheating planet is expected to intensify extreme rainfall in one of the largest countries in the world.
What's happening?
Australia's weather bureau issued a dire state of the climate report. Highlights from the report reveal Australia has warmed by an average of about 1.51 degrees Celsius since national records began there in 1910. Sea surface temperatures have risen by an average of 1.08 degrees Celsius since 1900.
The result of heat-trapping gases building up in the atmosphere and raising our planet's temperature is the supercharging of certain forms of extreme weather. The report warns that Australia faces more intense short-term rainfall events as our world warms.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's leading scientific research body, also contributed to the 2024 state of the climate report. They expect future more intense short-duration heavy rainfall events "even in regions where the average rainfall decreases or stays the same."
"What worries me is the frequency of these events," said the lead of the CSIRO's Climate Science Centre, Jaci Brown, per Bloomberg. "If we have a flood somewhere, and then another a few years later, how resilient are we to cope?"
Why are more intense extreme rainfall events important?
Spain was one of several countries this year that was hit hard by flash flooding. Nearly a year's worth of rain fell there in only eight hours. The catastrophic flooding took the lives of at least 205 people.
Our planet's rising temperatures are intensifying deadly floods in Africa, a region that contributes relatively little to the amount of heat-trapping gases fueling the climate crisis. The World Meteorological Organization has estimated that by 2030, up to 118 million people in Africa will be exposed to floods, extreme heat, and drought if adequate measures are not implemented.
According to an analysis by Climate Central, our warming world has amplified the water cycle in the United States, producing heavier rainfall extremes and related flood risks. Climate Central's research concluded that hourly rainfall intensity has increased in every region of our country, with the largest surges in the central and Southwest regions.
What's being done about an expected increase in future intense heavy rainfall events?
Some of the ways that Australia is trying to mitigate deadly floods include nature-based strategies. Governments around the world are encouraging and adopting broader use of natural flood management strategies. Europe is at the forefront of advances in this area. Berlin is becoming a "sponge city" in an effort to combat costly flooding. The city's government is using more green infrastructure to help absorb excess water.
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