The slower the storm moves, the more water will fall on the area and the risk of floods increases proportionately, explains The Guardian. Researchers have previously found that higher air temperatures associated with climate change allow more moisture to be retained in the atmosphere. This can lead to heavier rains.
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However, the new study also deals with the speed of storms, adding a new factor influencing extreme weather fluctuations.
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It was the almost motionless storm clouds that were behind the tragic floods in Germany. Up to 150 mm of rain rained during the storm.
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According to scientists, the reason for the slower movement of storms could be the rapidly warming Arctic, which slows down the flow of air in the atmosphere from west to east.
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NO COMMENT: Streets in flooded German cities were filled with rubble
Video: AP
“The simulation suggested that even worse things could come,” said study director Abdullah Kahraman of Newcastle University. According to Kahraman, modern technologies and supercomputers enable more detailed climate simulations with higher resolution and thus more accurate estimates of the development of storm systems.
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According to the authors of the study, the number of slow-moving storms increases most significantly in the summer months, especially in August. The scientist was surprised that the change in trend affected the entire continent, including the cold areas in the north, which includes not only Scandinavia but Britain. In 2100, there will be an environment in Europe with the potential for seven times more frequent extreme rainfall than today. The chances of almost motionless thunderstorms will be eleven times higher, fourteen times higher over the mainland than now.
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