Severe weather in Italy: climate change is threatening the Mediterranean

The storm tears up trees, and the masses of water pushing on the shores of Venice under water: Always looking for extreme weather events in the past weeks, countries around the Mediterranean sea home. Researchers: climate change makes weather patterns more extreme.

"The temperature of the ocean surface has changed due to global warming," says Peter Hoffmann, a meteorologist at the Potsdam Institute for climate impact research (PIK). "In the Mediterranean sea, it has this year, almost a record." This had changed the dynamics of the weather. Individual betting events, but not directly on climate change, a longer observation period is necessary.

at Least 60 of the Dead

"It doesn't have to be necessarily that the frequency of these weather grows extreme, but it is likely that the intensity increases." Strong rains are so extreme, the threat of Flooding increases.

In the case of the violent storms of the past weeks came in the Mediterranean region more than 60 people were killed:

in mid-October occurred in the Region around the southern French city of Carcassonne streams and rivers on the shore. In some places, increased flooding, more than seven meters high. Within a few hours as much rain as usual in half a year fell. Insurers estimated the damage at 200 million euros. Italy experienced in the summer of severe weather, heavy rain and extreme heat. The agricultural Association Coldiretti warns of losses running to Millions. Particularly hard hit Mallorca. There fell on the Canlı Bahis evening of 9. October, within a few hours of 233 litres of water per square meter. The water masses in cracks 13 people in the death. Other regions in the Mediterranean area experienced rain records. In Tunisia, heavy rains transformed the dry valleys to the tourist town of Nabeul in large rivers. The sewage systems were not able to cope with the water masses. At least eleven people were in the North African country have killed. In Jordan the masses of water cracks only a few days ago many school children in the death. They had been surprised on a trip near the dead sea a fall of rain. A total of at least 21 people were killed.

it rain in October in the Mediterranean, something more, was not unusual, explains climate researcher Hoffmann. The Mediterranean heat in the summer and store the heat longer than the air. Climate change will increase the differences between water and air temperature: the intensity of The rainfall.

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recently warned scientists from Kiel, in the Journal "Nature Communications", a large part of the Unesco world heritage sites in the Mediterranean is threatened by storm surges and coastal erosion: the lagoon of Venice, the Turkish Ephesus, the ruins of Carthage in Tunisia.

climate changes do not showed only in the stronger storms, and wrote to other researchers, including employees of the University of Giessen, in the journal "Nature Climate Change". In some Mediterranean regions, it'll be more likely to water scarcity. This summer, the Tunisian authorities called for example, the population to save water.

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And the consequences are not likely to stay on the Mediterranean is limited. "The warming of the water temperature in the Mediterranean sea has a strong impact on the amounts of rain with us," says climate researcher Hoffmann.

The entire dynamics of the atmosphere change. The flood events of 2002 and in Germany in 2013 were also developments in the Mediterranean. Lows transported with moisture-enriched air masses to the North and settled in Central Europe rain. "So this is a long-distance effect of the changes in the Mediterranean area, which we feel also with us in Germany."

koe/dpa

Date Of Update: 29 October 2018, 19:00