Adaptation10: July 2024

The visual narrative of climate change is shifting. Stock images of desiccated earth and parched landscapes have been replaced in the popular imagination by real-world pictures of near-apocalyptic floods.

There’s no shortage of them, either. Germany is experiencing its wettest year on record, and has suffered inundation after inundation in recent months. These have claimed lives, displaced thousands, and caused well over one billion euros in damages. In 2023, Vermont in the US was struck by catastrophic flooding, and another destructive bout crippled the state just this month. The Pakistan floods of 2022 dwarfed all these and more. That disaster turned 30 million people into refugees, killed over 1,000, and inflicted at least $30 billion in losses.

Our changing climate is making flooding catastrophes far more likely and far more dangerous. To understand why, think of the atmosphere as a sponge. It can carry vast amounts of water, but how much depends on the temperature. In a hotter world there’s more evaporation, and more water vapor can be held in the air. In fact, for every 1-degree Celsius (1.8°F) of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more water vapor.

This wetter air charges rainstorms with more water. After all, the more saturated a sponge, the more water it releases when squeezed.

These more ferocious storms are more than a match for much of the world’s outdated infrastructure. This is a big reason why countries are suffering from more frequent and intense pluvial (surface water) flooding events. Towns, cities, and rural areas have not been constructed to handle catastrophes of this magnitude.

Climate change is also contributing to another major source of flooding — storm surge. Higher temperatures are causing polar ice to melt at an alarming rate, leading to sea-level rise. From this higher tidal baseline powerful winds can push water further inland, overwhelming traditional coastal defenses.

Although the science is clear, humanity’s response to these escalating flood risks has proven inadequate so far. Following the floods in Germany, Bavaria’s Premier, Markus Söder, said “nobody could have expected” floods and damage on this scale. He was wrong. Meteorologists have been warning of such extreme weather events for years.

However, though many of our leaders are falling short when it comes to responding to flood risks, plenty of businesses are working to address this challenge. We explore some of these in this month’s Adaptation10.

Enjoy the report — and stay dry out there!

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Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall & Daniel Schmitz-Remberg