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February 2011

Increased flood risk linked to global warming

18 February 2011

Likelihood of extreme rainfall may have been doubled by rising greenhouse-gas levels. NATURE N°470

Climate change may be hitting home. Rises in global average temperature are remote from most people’s experience, but two studies in this week’s Nature1,2 conclude that climate warming is already causing extreme weather events that affect the lives of millions. The research directly links rising greenhouse-gas levels with the growing intensity of rain and snow in the Northern Hemisphere, and the increased risk of flooding in the United Kingdom.

Insurers will take note, as will those developing