Frequent occurrences of extreme weather events indicate the worsening impact of climate change across the globe.
In China, weather events have become more intense and unpredictable because of global warming, scientists say, with record-breaking rainfall and drought assailing the world’s second-largest economy, often at the same time.
Since April 18, China’s Guangdong province has been battered by unusually heavy, sustained and widespread rainfall, with powerful storms ushering in an earlier-than-normal start to the province’s annual flooding season in May and June. Rains are expected to affect Guangdong for the rest of April.
The province, once dubbed the “factory floor of the world”, is prone to summer floods. Its defences against disruptive floods were severely tested in June 2022 when Guangdong was pounded by the heaviest downpours in six decades.
According to a recent report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Asia was the world’s most disaster-hit region by climate related hazards last year. In 2023, 79 disasters linked to hydro-meteorological events had been reported in Asia. Further, more than 80% of these were related to floods and storms that caused more than 2,000 deaths.
Last week, Dubai was submerged in heavy waters, with normal operations halted after heavy rains caused severe flooding across the United Arab Emirates.
Researchers have linked extreme weather events storm to climate change and anticipate that global warming will lead to higher temperatures, increased humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region.
As climate change continues to raise temperatures, last year was the world’s hottest since records began. Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, is increasingly facing bouts of heat so intense that the human body cannot cope.
According to researchers, greenhouse gas emissions were the biggest cause of last year’s exceptional heat. However, factors such as the El Nino weather pattern also played a role.
(Input from Reuters)