How climate change made deadly floods in Spain worse
In 2024, extreme rainfall and flooding hit the Valencia region of Spain, killing at least 230 people. Now a new study shows that climate change has made it even worse
Locals and volunteers are seen manually clearing muddy roads with shovels and other equipment after floods in the Valencia region of Spain in late 2024.
In October 2024 the Spanish region of Valencia was inundated by heavy rain of biblical proportions. In just a few hours, the region received more rain than an average year. The rainfall caused flash floods that washed away bridges, cars and even derailed a train. At least 230 people died in the deluge. In those days, scientists speculated Climate change may have fueled this phenomenon – and now a new study shows just how much it did.
Study Shows that, due to climate change, intense rainfall over a six-hour period in Valencia was about 21 percent higher than it would have been without the impact of climate change.
This research is known as a climate attribution study: The science is clear that a changing climate will, in general, make extreme weather and disasters like floods and wildfires worse and more frequent. But it can be difficult to say how much global warming affected a particular event.
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In the new study, researchers used real-life data to simulate different flood scenarios and compared them to measurements of what the climate looked like before the widespread use of fossil fuels. By doing this, the researchers were able to determine not only that rainfall was more intense in Valencia due to climate change, but also that flooding was more widespread due to global warming.
The researchers found that an estimated 55 percent of the large area received about seven additional inches or more of rain during the disaster compared to pre-industrial conditions. Notably, 2024 was the hottest year on record.
The study was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature communication.
The findings suggest that the types of storms that researchers had predicted would be caused by climate change “are already becoming evident,” the authors write. Ultimately, they highlight an “urgent need” to ensure that cities are prepared for the potential onslaught of extreme weather as a result of climate change.
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