Climate change and deforestation caused catastrophic flooding in Libya – climatologists

Climate change and deforestation caused catastrophic flooding in Libya – climatologists

Katerina Belousova

At the current rate of warming of 1.2°C, such disasters will occur once every 300-600 years

Analysis by an international group of climatologists from World Weather Attribution found that the likelihood of torrential rains in Libya that caused two dams to burst has increased 50-fold due to anthropogenic climate change.

Deforestation, construction of cities in flood-prone areas, potential design flaws and poor maintenance of dams are also responsible for 4,000 deaths and more than 10,000 missing, reports DW.

According to climate scientists, global warming has also caused a 50% increase in rainfall in Libya during storms. They called the catastrophe "extremely unusual", which at the current rate of 1.2°C warming would occur once every 300-600 years.

"Storm Daniel is the deadliest and costliest storm over the Mediterranean and Africa," said Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London and co-author of the analysis. "We found that climate change has indeed led to increased rainfall."

She stressed that urgent measures to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to all types of extreme weather conditions are needed to save lives.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the president of the upcoming COP28 climate summit, Sultan Al Jaber, said that the world is losing the climate change competition.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, a study by carbon accounting experts showed that the war in Ukraine deepens the climate crisis, and the amount of CO2 emissions in the first 12 months of the war reached about 120 million tons.

Related
The ecologist exposed double standards of the Ministry of Environment in the fight against climate change
The ecologist exposed double standards of the Ministry of Environment in the fight against climate change

Beautiful slogans and plans for Ukraine's fight against climate change are being voiced by the relevant ministry in the world arena, but the actual solutions are completely different

In 2024, almost half of the world's unprecedented weather phenomena occurred in Europe
In 2024, almost half of the world's unprecedented weather phenomena occurred in Europe

Researchers have warned that some of the effects of the planet's heating will be unpreventable for hundreds of years

The EU's 2035 climate target will be achieved, but a delay to 2040 is in sight
The EU's 2035 climate target will be achieved, but a delay to 2040 is in sight

The delay may be due to a slight freeze in legislative processes in the EU during the European Parliament elections, as well as due to the presence of political pressure.