The crisis is a timely reminder that climate change is expected to increase the frequency and magnitude of severe flooding across the world. Although no single flood can be linked directly to climate change, basic physics attests to the fact that a warmer world and atmosphere will hold more water, which will result in more intense and extreme rainfall.
The monsoon season usually brings heavy rains but this year Kerala has seen 42% more rain than would be expected, with more than 90.6in of rain across the region since the beginning of June, and over 28in in August alone.
These are similar levels seen during Hurricane Harvey, that hit Houston in August 2017, when more than 59in of rain fell during one storm. Tropical cyclones and hurricanes, such as Harvey, are expected to increase in strength by up to 10% with a 2℃ rise in global temperature. Under climate change the probability of such extreme rainfall is also predicted to grow by up to sixfold towards the end of the century. The rivers and drainage systems of Kerala have been unable to cope with such large volumes of water and this has resulted in flash flooding.
Much of that water would normally be slowed down by trees or other natural obstacles. Yet over the past 40 years Kerala has lost nearly half its forest cover, an area of 3475mi², just under the size of Greater London, while the state’s urban areas keep growing. This means that less rainfall is being intercepted, and more water is rapidly running into overflowing streams and rivers.
One of the most striking things from the videos and images emerging from the area is the brown color of the flood waters and the extreme damage caused by landslides. Our recent research has shown that geomorphology – the processes of erosion and deposition that shape the Earth’s surface – is sensitive to rainfall intensity, so more frequent and more extreme floods mean more rapid changes across our landscapes.
Read more at Kerala Shows the Risk of Severe Floods Is Still Evolving
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