How climate change fueled the devastating floods in Germany and northwest Europe
After historic rainfall caused devastating flooding that killed more than 100 people in northwestern Europe and left more than 1,000 missing, officials and scientists aren’t being coy about the main culprit: climate change.
In response to footage of the unfolding disaster, German Minister of the Environment Svenja Schulze announced, “These are the harbingers of climate change that have now arrived in Germany.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the flooding “a clear indication of climate change” and “something that really, really shows the urgency to act.”
That European officials would draw a direct line between this extreme weather event and climate change may not be such a surprise, given that it happened just a day after the European Union announced a sweeping set of proposals to address the climate emergency — proposals that are likely to face stiff opposition from many sectors, including less-affluent EU countries or those that rely heavily on fossil fuels.
A catastrophic weather event hitting right after those proposals were announced certainly helps EU officials illustrate why such ambitious policies are needed.
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