The overexploitation of natural resources is intensifying across developing regions

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Global storms linked to an exceptionally wet September. Rising temperatures
on both oceans and land have contributed to more heat
and moisture, intensifying storms and causing heavy rainfall across the globe.
Storm Yagi devastated parts of Asia, while Storm Boris brought
floods to many areas of Europe, with severe flooding in

(00:23):
the Sahel region, and Hurricane Helene hit Florida. This has
made September an extraordinarily wet month. However, while scientists can
directly link some extreme weather events to human caused global warming,
it's still too early to draw conclusions about this particular
stormy month. According to AFP, there have always been extreme

(00:48):
weather events, but their intensity is being amplified by global warming,
especially in terms of rainfall, said Paulochepi, a researcher at
the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. That might be
one of the common drivers of various events occurring in
different parts of the world. Preliminary data for the month

(01:08):
reveals record breaking rainfall in affected areas in Central Europe.
The torrential rain accompanying Storm Boris was the most severe
ever recorded in the region. Flooding homes and farms. According
to the World Weather Attribution WWA network of scientists, global
warming has doubled the likelihood of sustained heavy rain lasting

(01:32):
four days compared to pre industrial times, with climate change
related damage escalating rapidly. In Wajima, Japan, authorities reported more
than one hundred twenty millimeters of rainfall per hour from
storm Yagi on the morning of September twenty first, the
heaviest downpour recorded since comparable data began in nineteen twenty nine.

(01:55):
Attributing different weather patterns happening simultaneously around the world to
climate change is very difficult, said Liz Stephens, head of
the Red Crescent Climate Center. But the fundamental principle remains
that for every degree celsius of warming, the atmosphere can
hold seven percent more moisture. With global warming on track

(02:18):
to surpass one point five degrees celsius above pre industrial levels,
we can quickly estimate the impact. The summer of twenty
twenty four experienced the highest global temperatures ever recorded, breaking
last year's record. According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

(02:39):
This year's scorching summer in the Mediterranean provided more evaporated water,
leading to heavier rainfall in Europe when conditions were right,
concentrating all that moisture in certain areas. CEPI explained unusually
high global temperatures on both ocean and land surfaces in
August and September, despite Lanina like conditions in the Pacific,

(03:03):
further fueled storm intensity. According to roxy Matthew Coal of
the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Lanina is a natural
climate phenomenon that cools ocean surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific,
influencing winds, rainfall, and atmospheric pressure in many areas, particularly

(03:26):
the tropics. Lanina has the opposite effect of El Nino,
which warms ocean surfaces, causing drought in some regions and
heavy rainfall in others. Currently, a neutral phase is underway,
meaning neither El Nino nor Lannina is present.