Data Dash
In Pictures: 2023 Extreme Heat Unleashed Rain Like Never Before
Unusually violent downpours have hit every inhabited continent this year.
Residents walk through a flooded street in Myanmar's Bago region on Oct. 10.
Photographer: Sai Aung Main/Getty Images
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What’s likely to be the hottest year on record brought never-before-seen rain to five continents, killing thousands of people and causing millions of dollars in economic losses.
The Earth’s atmosphere can hold more moisture at higher temperatures, which means global warming leads to heavier downpours. This year, record-hot oceans provided more fuel for storms. United Nations-backed scientists project that flooding will get worse as climate change, caused by carbon emissions from human activities, accelerates.