What's happened
Severe flash floods in Spain have resulted in at least 158 confirmed deaths, primarily in Valencia. Climate scientists attribute the extreme weather to climate change, which is intensifying rainfall events. The situation underscores the urgent need for action against greenhouse gas emissions as the world faces increasing weather extremes.
Why it matters
What the papers say
The Independent reports that the recent floods in Spain have resulted in at least 158 deaths, with climate scientists attributing the severity of these events to climate change. According to the BBC, over 570,000 people have died globally from extreme weather events linked to climate change, highlighting the urgent need for political action. Dr. Friederike Otto from the World Weather Attribution group stresses that the current climate crisis is exacerbated by fossil fuel dependency, stating, 'If we keep burning oil, gas and coal, the suffering will continue.' This sentiment is echoed in The Independent, which notes that the world is on track for a catastrophic 3 degrees Celsius increase in temperatures by the end of the century, emphasizing the need for immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
How we got here
Recent flash floods in Spain have claimed numerous lives, with experts linking the severity of these events to climate change. The World Weather Attribution group has noted that rising global temperatures are making such extreme weather more likely and intense.
More on these topics
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Imperial College London is a public research university in London. Dating back to the Royal College of Chemistry's foundation in 1845, Imperial grew out of Prince Albert's vision of an area for culture, including the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial Institute,
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Friederike Elly Luise Otto is a German climatologist who as of January 2021 was Associate Director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.
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World Weather Attribution is an academic collaboration studying extreme event attribution, calculations of the impact of climate change on extreme meteorological events such as heat waves, droughts, and storms. When an extreme event occurs, the project...