German expert predicted more frequent floods in Europe

16.11.2021 Views: 732

Stephanie Hansel: more frequent floods are forecast in Europe in the coming years

MOSCOW, Nov 16 — RIA Novosti. Europe, in particular Germany, is expected to experience more frequent floods in the coming years, Dr. Stephanie Hansel, scientific coordinator of the German Meteorological Service and a member of the expert network of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in the field of climate change impacts and adaptation, told RIA Novosti.

"In general, in the next 30 years we will have significantly more frequent phenomena such as, for example, floods and flash floods, as it was last summer in West Germany," she said.

According to her, this can lead to a lot of problems for the transport system and accidents due to road damage. In addition, experts note a longer growing season in the late summer and autumn months, which depends, among other things, on the climate. Due to warming, "trees stay green longer in autumn, and the wind affects them more strongly," as a result, they fall on roads and disrupt traffic, Hansel explained.

The "vagaries" of the weather: what to expect from climate change?Cases abnormal droughts and precipitation have become more frequent in recent decades. Scientists associate such "vagaries" of the weather with global climatic changes.

Now the German authorities are studying possible steps that will allow the transport system to cope with extreme climatic events, the expert added.

Speaking about the upcoming winter in Europe and Russia on the sidelines of the international conference on assessing the effects of climate change, organized by ROSDORNIA and the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the doctor predicted warmer weather than in the last three decades

Photo: RIA-Novosti