Libya floods made up to 50 times more likely by climate change, study suggests
The IndependentThe best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The catastrophic flooding that has killed thousands of people in Libya was made up to 50 times more likely because of climate change, with 50% more rain, scientists have calculated. In Libya, there was also a forecast with a three-day lead time on the track of Storm Daniel but the impact of that potential rainfall on infrastructure and people was not clearly understood in advance Maja Vahlberg, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre The scientists said there are “mathematical uncertainties” in their estimates because the rain happened over specific areas and because, unlike heatwaves, extremity of heavy rain does not necessarily correspond with higher temperatures. However they said there was no evidence of any factors making such events less likely and, because weather stations are recording more intense rainfall as atmospheric temperatures rise, it must be influenced by climate change. In central Greece, weather forecasts allowed 5,000 people to escape the worst of the flooding, preventing more lives being lost, said Maja Vahlberg, of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.