Humans to blame for deadly Germany floods, study finds

Human behaviour is contributing to an increase in significant weather events, with an excess in heavy rainfall occurring as a result.

Findings from a new study found climate change induced by human activity may be to blame for Germany’s deadly flooding event.

The once-in-a-400-year occurrence killed at least 220 people after record rainfall led to heavy flash flooding back in July this year.

Buildings and homes were also destroyed across both Germany and Belgium as some parts of the two European countries got a month’s worth of rain in a day. 

The study was conducted by 39 scientists and researchers as part of the World Weather Attribution project.

Friederike Otto, the associate director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford says that not even developed countries are safe from extreme weather events.

“This is an urgent global challenge and we need to step up to it,” Otto said in a statement.

“The science is clear and has been for years.”

The study found that climate change could increase the intensity of daily extreme rainfall by up to 19 percent.

The Ahr and Erft rivers in Germany and the Meuse in Belgium were the main focus areas of the assessment. 

All three areas recorded record-breaking levels of rainfall. 

France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland were also areas of interest as researchers wanted to establish how extreme weather events are influenced by increasing global temperatures. 

If climate change isn’t managed, the study reveals that such rain events will grow more intense and frequent as the earth gets warmer. 

More specifically, a rise of 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels would see the intensity of rain increase significantly. 

Written by Rebecca Borg