Flooded city in the area of the Mississippi River (photo source chris boswell, dreamstime.com)
A report on the catastrophic floods produced in April in the central area of the Mississippi River Valley shows that climate change has made the extremely more intense weather event if the man had not influenced the climate in the last 150 years.
Severe floods affected several US states (Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky) at the beginning of April and 15 people died. A new climate attribution report shows that climate change have amplified the catastrophic floods in April.
The researchers analyzed the role that the climatic changes caused by man had in these extreme phenomena. World Weather Attribution (WWA) estimates show that – due to global warming – the probability of floods increased by about 40%, and their intensity rose by 9%, writes livescience.
In order to estimate the impact of climate change, the researchers compared historical data from the Mississippi River Valley with those of April 2025. The conclusion was that both the regional and high temperatures of the ocean, led to a higher amount of humidity in the atmosphere.
The historical floods were caused by extreme rains generated by the collision of a high pressure system over the East Coast and Southeast US with a low pressure system. The resulting front blocked several days and repeatedly caused torrential rains in that region. Also during that period, the Jet current brought moisture from the East Pacific, and the air on the surface transported humidity from the Gulf of Mexico.
However, climatologists insist on the fact that it is difficult to quantify the impact of human activities on the global weather. The report also emphasizes that the prompt intervention of the emergency services has prevented an even greater catastrophe.
The report also insists on the role of climate change in increasing evaporation in the Gulf of Mexico, increased by the growing temperatures from the surface of the water. This additional evaporation has brought larger amounts of rainfall during storms.
Photo source: dreamstime.com
