• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
Iron & Earth Lands $16M to Help Fossil Fuel Workers Enter Net-Zero Jobs June 7, 2023
UN Climate Delegates Haggle Over Agenda as CO2 Levels Set New Record June 6, 2023
Rich Countries Overstate Their Climate Finance Contributions, Oxfam Warns June 6, 2023
Renewables ‘Set to Soar’ with 440 GW of New Installations in 2023: IEA June 4, 2023
Greek Industrial Giant Announces 1.4-GW Alberta Solar Farm, Canada’s Biggest June 4, 2023
Next
Prev

Europe must prepare for extreme weather

October 7, 2016
Reading time: 3 minutes
Primary Author: Paul Brown

 

Cities and towns across Europe are warned to adapt to the battering they face from intense storms as extreme weather events become more frequent.

LONDON, 7 October, 2016 − Extreme weather, high winds and flooding are causing increasing disruption and damage in European cities, and local authorities and scientists are being warned that they need to act together to lessen the impact.

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Subscribe

Because storms do not respect country borders, regional long-term weather forecasting needs to be developed so that early warnings can be given for all areas that may be in the path of extreme weather, says the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA).

Starting immediately, all towns and cities across Europe should be assessed for their vulnerability to flooding and other hazards, according to DG CLIMA, which leads the EC’s efforts to fight climate change at European Union and international level.

When the storms come − as inevitably they will, with increasing frequency − these preparations will help protect people, electricity supplies and prevent disruption to roads, rail and underground systems. Emergency services will know in advance which places are most likely to need help.

Extreme weather increase

Over the last three decades, Europe has already seen a 60% increase in extreme weather events, and one of the most dramatic documented examples comes from Venice, where the waters are rising and flooding is becoming a serious problem.

A century ago, there were only one or two floods a year on average. But in 2014, there were 125 in which the tides overflowed into the city − compared with only 35 in 1983 and 44 in 1993. Seven of the 2014 floods were classed as extreme, compared with only one in 1983.

European cities are the continent’s centres of innovation and growth. They house about 75% of the population and use about 80% of the energy produced.

“Because of the concentration of people and economic assets, towns and cities are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including impacts on health, infrastructure and quality of life, with the urban poor being the most affected segment of society,” says Alessandra Sgobbi, policy officer at the DG CLIMA Adaptation Unit.

Examples of the recent costs of extreme weather include flooding and winter storms in the UK in 2014, which cost an estimated €20 billion in disruption to the economy and damage. Losses as a result of flooding in Genoa, Italy, in the same year amounted to €100 million.

“A well-anticipated crisis can often mean that
many lives and properties are saved”

Human folly has often made cities vulnerable because of poor planning or bad building design in risk-prone areas, Sgobbi says. For example, 23 urban areas in France have over 100,000 inhabitants settled in flood zones.

Experts estimate that, unless action is taken now, the economic costs to EU cities of storm damage could exceed €190 billion annually by 2070.

“Cities represent the biggest stakes, but every community has its specific means to manage the risk, and some are better prepared than others,” says Yann Eglin, risk management engineer at the National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture (IRSTEA) in France.

Paris was one of the French cities that suffered considerable damage after the heavy rainfall in early June this year. Electricity grids, the basement of Louvre museum, part of the metro system and rail lines were all affected.

“Whenever there is flooding, rescue teams need to know all the points where water may enter into the underground transport network, so that they can deploy devices to protect station entrances, air vents and any other duct likely to let water in,” says Charles Perrin, a hydrologist at IRSTEA.

Scientists stress the need for planning and preparation to avoid time-wasting when a flood alert is issued. “A well-anticipated crisis can often mean that many lives and properties are saved,” Eglin says. “Preparing the return to normality is equally important. This is what makes a city resilient,”

The scientific community is trying to come up with methods to protect against the extreme weather conditions.

Mitigation tools

In this context, European researchers and experts are working on a project called RAIN, which focuses on developing a series of mitigation tools to enhance the security of the European infrastructure networks, such as transport, energy and telecommunication systems. The Helsinki floods of 2005 are the focus of one of their case studies.

“An important step is to be able to carry out long-term risk assessments, scenario analysis and forecasting,” says Beatriz Yordi, head of the DG CLIMA Adaptation Unit.

“This will help planning and implementation processes and allow us to develop a comprehensive picture of current and future climate change risks while managing the associated uncertainty.”

Forecasting must include potential changes in river flooding and sea level rise. And planners need to determine how the climate will affect increasing urban density and changing populations. – Climate News Network



in Climate News Network

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

moerschy / Pixabay
Biodiversity & Habitat

Planetary Weight Study Shows Humans Taking Most of Earth’s Resources

March 19, 2023
42
U.S. Geological Survey/wikimedia commons
Biodiversity & Habitat

Climate Change Amplifies Risk of ‘Insect Apocalypse’

December 1, 2022
57
Alaa Abd El-Fatah/wikimedia commons
COP Conferences

Rights Abuses, Intrusive Conference App Put Egypt Under Spotlight as COP 27 Host

November 14, 2022
30

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Courtesy of Sen. Rosa Galvez

BREAKING: Climate Finance Bill Sent to Senate Banking Committee for Review

June 8, 2023
289
Inspiration 4 Photos/flickr

Cooling Upper Atmosphere Has Scientists ‘Very Worried’

May 23, 2023
838
Clairewych/Pixabay

Demand Surges for Giant Heat Pumps as Europe Turns to District Heating

June 4, 2023
535
/MaxPixels

‘Substantial Damage’, No Injuries as Freight Train Hits Wind Turbine Blade

June 7, 2023
14.9k
RenuWell/YouTube

Iron & Earth Lands $16M to Help Fossil Fuel Workers Enter Net-Zero Jobs

June 8, 2023
478
Sask Power/flickr

Don’t Waste $15B Growth Fund on Carbon Capture, Experts Warn Ottawa

June 7, 2023
225

Recent Posts

IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin/Twitter

UN Climate Delegates Haggle Over Agenda as CO2 Levels Set New Record

June 6, 2023
106
IRIN Photos/flickr

Rich Countries Overstate Their Climate Finance Contributions, Oxfam Warns

June 6, 2023
64
YouTube

‘Counterproductive Nitwittery’: Mr. Bean Schooled on EVs After Erroneous Op-Ed

June 7, 2023
213
Ecig Click/flickr

Wasted Batteries in Disposable Vapes Could Power 6,000 EVs Per Year

June 6, 2023
87
Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op/Facebook

‘Hinge Moment’ for Humanity Demands ‘YIMBY’ Mentality: McKibben

June 6, 2023
169
Hans/Pixabay

Plastics Treaty Negotiators Aim for Draft Deal by November

June 6, 2023
43
Next Post

Agroforestry can help planet and profits

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}