Typhoon Yagi approaches on September 5, 2024 in Huizhou, Guangdong Province of China.
Photographer: Visual China Group/Getty Images
Weather & Science
Historic Rainfall Inflicts Chaotic Floods Across Four Continents
A series of storms, fueled by a warming planet, has unleashed torrential rainfall and flooding in Europe, Africa, Asia and the US.
Severe rains bucketed down on central Europe, Africa, Shanghai and the US Carolinas this week, underscoring the extreme ways in which climate change is altering the weather.
Different meteorological phenomena are behind the series of storms, according to climate scientists, though an underlying factor for the supercharged rainfall is global warming writ large. Research has shown that hotter air is capable of carrying more moisture and is more likely to cause intense precipitation.