The Rain in Spain

Yet another awful, stark reminder of the dangers of climate change. I had a long research association with folk in Valencia. I know from my repeated visits, that they had experienced severe flooding in the 1970s. State-of-the-art defences were consequently engineered, with the intention of preventing any repetitions. Yesterday, these defences were overwhelmed by torrential rain/hailstones. More rain fell in 24 hours than normally falls in a year. Numerous cars were washed away, buildings flooded and more than 100 people killed (https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/oct/30/spain-floods-valencia-latest-news). Floods, droughts and violent storms have always happened. Climate change is now, however, making these events more frequent and more extreme. Basic physics shows that heating results in 20% more water being available for precipitation. Extreme weather now even affects 'safe' parts of the planet! And still, the deniers deny!