Climate change - The culprit in increasing flood risks in Central Europe

The worst floods to hit central Europe in at least two decades have killed 24 people, inundated towns, damaged buildings and bridges, and forced governments to spend billions of dollars on repairs and recovery.

Storm Boris raged for four days, bringing record rainfall to the region, according to World Weather Attribution. Experts say climate change has doubled the risk of heavy rains and increased their severity by more than 7%.

"Once again, these floods highlight the devastating consequences of global warming caused by fossil fuel use," said Joyce Kimutai, a researcher at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and co-author of the study. "Until oil, gas and coal are replaced by renewable energy, storms like Boris are expected to bring more heavy rainfall, leading to floods that threaten to cripple the economy."

The report also pointed out that while the weather factors that caused the storm – including cold air from the Alps and warm air from the Mediterranean and Black Sea – were unusual, climate change has made these storms more intense and likely to occur more frequently.

With temperatures rising 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a storm similar to Storm Boris could occur on average every 100 to 300 years, according to projections. However, with a 2-degree rise, this could lead to at least a 5% increase in rainfall and a 50% increase in frequency compared to today, with these expected to occur by the 2050s.