Climate warming is predicted to intensify rainfall patterns. But new research suggests this could even happen within individual storms, as warmer weather makes them more likely to contain short intense bursts.
Climate change models predict higher chances of severe rain for Texas and other places in the US, but linking climate and extreme weather is still an immature science, says Texas state climatologist.
Human activity is driving sea levels higher. Australia’s seas are likely to rise by around 70 centimetres by 2100 if nothing is done to combat climate change. But 2100 can seem a long way off. At the moment…
Landslides happen everywhere and in different geological locations. This can be because of flooding, which allows sodden soil to move, or rockfalls and slower, continuous movements of land due to gravity…
The state of the British summer has always been a constant source of fascination and irritation, if only for its fickle nature. Now the latest prediction is for more heavy summer downpours. Our study…
Jemma Bezant, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
It is said that if you listen carefully on the shores of Aberdyfi in northwest Wales you can hear the bells of the drowned church of Maes Gwyddno ringing a sad lament beneath the waves. Such tales suggest…
This winter’s floods were amongst the most severe in living memory, with swathes of the country submerged. The loss of life has been much lower than for many disasters around the world, but many land owners…
With towns in the south and southwest flooded out, the government has offered £5,000 payments to help homeowners add flood protection to their homes, while small firms will enjoy a cut of a £10m fund to…
We’ve been told to get used to flooding. Whether or not the latest floods were caused by climate change, this winter has reminded us that floods are and will continue to be a fact of human existence, especially…
An estimated 5,800 homes and businesses have been flooded in England and Wales this winter, now officially the wettest ever. By comparison, the total was 55,300 properties after the 2007 summer floods…
For much of the 20th century, faith has rested in bigger and better defences to hold back floodwaters. But repeated flooding has shown that large defences cannot, and should not, be the sole focus. The…
More wet and windy weather arrives week after week, with the inundated areas of the south and southwest of Britain still at the mercy of the elements. Even while politicians begin the blame game, we should…
The flooding of the Thames and Severn rivers over the past week has brought the misery of being flooded to many more people beyond the sodden Somerset Levels. Such a prolonged period of rainfall – the…
Flooding continues to afflict many parts of southern Britain. Areas of the Somerset Levels have been submerged for weeks, large parts of the Thames Valley are under water and the River Severn is bursting…
From the isolation of entire villages in the flood-hit Somerset Levels to coastal rail tracks falling into the sea at Dawlish in Devon, the economic, social and emotional damage to those hit by extreme…
Floods happen. Rivers have always inundated their floodplains and the sea has always tried to reclaim land that has been taken from it. This is certainly true in Somerset, whose name derives from the Old…
Ministers should be applauded for recognising that there’s simply no way we could tell the thousands of key workers and low income families, desperate for a decent home, that we can’t build any more new…