These Mediterranean storms that have characteristics of cyclones and tropical hurricanes, called “medicán” (contraction of “Mediterranean hurricane”), only occur one to three times a year.
To form, they need flows of heat and moisture, “reinforced by warm sea surface temperatures,” emphasizes Suzanne Gray, professor in the department of meteorology at the University of Reading, in Brittany.
For several weeks now, the surface waters of the eastern Mediterranean and the Atlantic have been between two and three degrees Celsius warmer than usual.
“They probably caused more intense rainfall,” several scientists said during a meeting of the United Kingdom’s weather warning system.
Caution
“There is a direct relationship between increased precipitation and flooding. Added to this are local meteorological conditions. In this case, it is due to a persistent blockage of high pressure, which is currently dissipating,” the scientists explain.
But experts admit that at the moment it is difficult to say whether these types of events will be more frequent in the future.
According to some models, climate change could reduce the number of cyclones in the Mediterranean but increase their intensity.
Most scientists are reluctant to make direct links between individual weather events and long-term climate change.
2023-09-14 01:50:05
#floods #Libya #deadly #weather
