Flooding. Mainly a winter phenomenon, right? Wrong. Our latest blog looks in more detail at global summer flooding.
Whilst it might not be obvious – we have officially entered summer 2024. For many of us, the warmer periods are a time to relax, make plans, and hopefully be thankful for the temporary respite from the colder ‘wetter’ months.
However, recent analysis from a major insurer, examined home and commercial policy flood claims from 2013 – 2024. It found that July and August each accounted for a staggering 12% of all property flood claims (almost a quarter of all flood claims combined) putting the months joint second behind December which accounted for 17%. Furthermore, over a third (35%) of home insurance flood claims happen between June and August, dispelling the myth that flooding is simply a winter phenomenon, suggesting an increased likelihood of floods occurring outside of traditional “flood season” in the colder months of the year.
A large portion of winter floods tend to be caused by rivers bursting their banks after prolonged periods of rain where the ground is already saturated. Summer flooding is often caused by heavy, intense downpours falling onto dry ground following hot, dry weather.
If we look back less than 12 months, we saw much of the northern hemisphere battered by extreme weather across the summer period. Heat, wildfires, torrential rain, and hurricanes, caused absolute devastation in what was the hottest year ever.
Traditionally, we think of floods happening in the autumn and winter, with prolonged rainfall causing rivers to reach capacity. Recent data and trends suggest that floods can (and do) occur at any time. Summer flash floods are becoming more commonplace, highlighting that residents and businesses should have a clear flood action plan, and be prepared for floods at any point during the year.
Scientists say many extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense because of climate change. Every 1-degree Celsius rise in temperature means the atmosphere can hold about 7 percent more moisture. More heat from the sun causes greater evaporation, more moisture forms clouds and results in heavier rain. In turn this increases the flood risk. Globally, heavy rainfall events have become more frequent and intense over most land regions due to human activity. This pattern will inevitably continue with further warming.
El Niño, which began in June, is believed to have also contributed to making 2023 the hottest year ever. The powerful natural phenomenon is linked to higher temperatures and occurs every two to seven years when warm water rises to the surface in the Pacific off the coast of South America.
In the Mediterranean, millions of people saw up close what extreme heat looks like. Two long and blistering heatwaves, named Cerberus and Caronte after figures from ancient Greek mythology, struck countries across the region. In Italy, all cities were placed under red alert – with tourists in Rome collapsing in temperatures above 40C. In Athens, the Acropolis – Greece’s most popular tourist attraction – was forced to close to protect visitors from potentially fatal heat. And in Algeria and Tunisia, temperatures climbed to 48C.
The heat created the tinder-dry conditions for wildfires that swept across the Mediterranean. Between 1st and 25th July, the huge fires in Greece emitted one million tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s the most for any July wildfire in the country on record, and as much as London, one of the world’s most populous cities, emits in almost two weeks.
With millions desperate for relief from the heat, on 26 July 2023 record-breaking torrential rain and ferocious winds struck China and the Philippines. Typhoon Doksuri pounded cities and coastlines in East Asia for a week causing billions of pounds worth of damage. More than one million people were evacuated as winds reached 149m/h. In Beijing, the amount of rain that fell broke a 140-year-old record. The floods damaged roads and bridges, submerged cars and destroyed construction sites.
Warmer temperatures provide more favourable conditions for these types of extreme weather phenomena. In the months leading up to the typhoon, China, South Korea and other parts of East Asia had experienced record heat. Scientists with the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said that climate change made the July heatwave in China 50 times more likely.
More recently, in April 2024, we saw intense rainfall batter the gulf states and majorly disrupt one of the world’s busiest airports. Dubai International Airport advised some passengers not to turn up due to areas being inundated by water. Flights were delayed and cancelled. In addition, several fatalities were recorded across the region. Heavy rain in this region is rare. But these types of events have become 10-40% heavier, and climate change is the most likely explanation, according to (WWA).
In May 2024, southern Brazil experienced heavy rains, which led to widespread flooding, displacing about 150,000 people. The Rio Grande do Sul region that was hit is particularly vulnerable to heavy rains, as it is the meeting point of tropical and polar air masses.
The impact of extreme weather in different countries is a reminder that how humans respond is vital. This summer the UN and leading climate scientists again urged governments to keep to their promises to urgently tackle climate change.
Scientists believe the summer of 2023 is a sign of things to come as climate change worsens. We saw devastating floods battering many parts of the globe, which caused extensive damage to New York’s Hudson Valley, displaced 1000s of people in China, left people in Spain clinging to their cars and climbing trees to escape flood water, whilst in India fatal landslides blocked about 700 roads, and flash floods destroyed a bridge and left the streets filled with debris.
Changing weather patterns and extreme weather such as flash flooding in the summer are things we are likely to experience more often, so it’s important that our properties are climate-ready, regardless of where we live or work.
While we may not know exactly what summer 2024 will hold in terms of global flood phenomena, we know the planet is getting hotter as a direct result of climate change. And, whilst it continues to get hotter, it will continue to get wetter.
Since 1994, Flood Control International has designed, supplied, and installed the widest range of flood protection solutions in the world.
To view our range of flood protection solutions, visit: https://floodcontrolinternational.com/flood-prevention-products/
To view our brand new Boxwall website, visit https://boxwall.co.uk/. Boxwall combines a self-anchoring design, rapid deployment, and customisable configurations to safeguard properties.
References
Dubai airport chaos as UAE and Oman reel from deadly storms – BBC News
How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods – BBC News
UK Summer Weather Forecast 2024 – La Niña Summer? – Real Weather – Accurate UK Weather Forecasts
Atlantic Hurricane Season Set To Break Records Amid ‘Perfect Storm’ (msn.com)
Summer flood claims becoming more commonplace, says major insurer (msn.com)
London weather: Thundery showers to hit South-East this week amid wet start to summer (msn.com)
Spring 2024 has been very wet and mild. Will summer be warm? – BBC Weather
The extreme summer weather that scorched and soaked the world – BBC News
