On 6 and 7 July 2018, torrential rains came down on parts of southwestern Japan, especially around Hiroshima, Wakayama and Okayama. The resulting flash floods and landslides killed at least 200 people and caused immense damage.
2018 began with a series of four strong wind storms over Western Europe. In particular, two major events pounded the continent: Storm Eleanor on January 3, and Storm Friederike on January 18.
Two years on from Storm Desmond, all measurements from that time have been made available allowing scientists to revisit their original attribution analysis and demonstrate the robustness of the approach.
Our scientific analysis found that human-caused climate change made the record rainfall that fell over Houston during Hurricane Harvey roughly three times more likely and 15 percent more intense.
Torrential rains drenched south Louisiana in mid August, with parts of the state receiving nearly 30 inches of rain between 10–17. The extreme nature of this event left many asking whether climate change may have played a role.