Something Horrifying is Happening to Paris' Weather
By:
The president of France, Francois Hollande, has declared a natural disaster in Paris as deadly torrents of rain flooded streets and waterways in a bout of extreme weather some experts think this is just the beginning.
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes just south of Paris and an 86-year-old woman was found dead in her flooded house, according to RTE news. The world famous Louvre in Paris that houses the "Mona Lisa" had to close and move its paintings to a different building as the nearby Seine River rose to the highest levels in 30 years. At least five people were killed in Germany this week because of flooding by the same storm system.
All of this is our fault, according to Dr. Jereon Aerts, director of the Institute for Environmental Studies in the Netherlands.
He told Radio France Internationale that the massive rain and flooding from the last six days is due to climate change weather patterns and an unwillingness to adapt to climate change. "The thing is, apart from a change in climate, the biggest fault comes from ourselves," said Aerts.
He said that there are some areas where people should no longer live.
"Why is there so much damage in France and Germany?," Aerts said to RFI. "It's not only a heavy precipitation event but also because, if you compare the situation of the two countries to 100 years ago, there are many more people and buildings in vulnerable areas."
France had the wettest May on record since 1886, according to RFI. A study by VU University of Amersterdam published in Nature Climate Change in 2014 said that "extreme flood losses" will double in Europe by 2050.
Although they're not necessarily scientists, people on Twitter called out climate change for the heavy rains.
Here in the U.S., five soldiers died after their vehicle turned over during intense historic flooding in Fort Hood, Texas. A flash flood warning was put into effect Thursday for south and central Texas, according to CNN.
Floods in Texas were linked to climate change back in April when some counties were declared a disaster area, according to Slate.
A rainfall analysis by Climate Central, an independent group of scientists and journalists who follow climate patterns, found that 40 of the lower 48 states in the U.S. have seen an increase in heavy downpours since 1950.
