By Haruna Gimba
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the heavy rainfall that triggered deadly and catastrophic flooding in several western European countries, is an indicator that all nations need to do more to hold back climate change-induced disasters.
The agency said that countries including Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands had received up to two months’ rain in two days from July 14 to 15, on ground that was “already near saturation.”
“We have seen images of houses being swept away, it’s really, really devastating,” said WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis adding that that the disaster had overwhelmed some of the prevention measures put in place by the affected developed countries.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said he was saddened by the loss of life and destruction of property.
“He extends his condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims and to the Governments and people of the affected countries.”
The UN chief said the UN stood ready to contribute to ongoing rescue and assistance efforts, if necessary.
“Europe on the whole is prepared, but you know, when you get extreme events, such as what we’ve seen – two months’ worth of rainfall in two days – it’s very, very difficult to cope,” added Ms. Nullis, before describing scenes of “utter devastation” in Germany’s southwestern Rhineland-Palatinate state, which is bordered by France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Highlighting typical preparedness measures, the WMO official noted In Switzerland’s national meteorological service, MeteoSwiss, had a smartphone application which regularly issued alerts about critical high-water levels.
The highest flood warning is in place at popular tourist and camping locations including lakes Biel, Thun and the Vierwaldstattersee, with alerts also in place for Lake Brienz, the Rhine near Basel, and Lake Zurich.
Dry and hot up north
In contrast to the wet conditions, parts of Scandinavia continue to endure scorching temperatures, while smoke plumes from Siberia have affected air quality across the international dateline in Alaska.
Unprecedented heat in western north America has also triggered devastating wildfires in recent weeks.
Among the Scandinavian countries enduring a lasting heatwave, the southern Finnish town of Kouvola Anjala, has seen 27 consecutive days with temperatures above 25C.
“This is Finland, you know, it’s not Spain, it’s not north Africa,” Ms. Nullis emphasised to journalists in Geneva.
“Certainly, when you see the images we’ve seen in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands this week it’s shocking, but under climate change scenarios, we are going to see more extreme events in particular extreme heat,” the WMO official added.
