Climate Change Made Germany’s Deadly Floods Much More Likely

The heavy rains and floods that killed at least 220 people in Belgium and Germany this summer were made more likely and more intense by climate change. 

These are the conclusions of a rapid attribution report put together in just over a month by a group of 39 scientists collaborating under the World Weather Attribution initiative. Climate change made the floods between 1.2 and nine times more likely to happen, while it increased the intensity of the event by between 3% and 19%.