Spanish Guncang Flash Flood, UN Weather Agency: This Is An Example Of A Global Extreme Weather Disaster

JAKARTA - Floods in Spain, reportedly claimed more than 158 lives, is one of many extreme weather disasters that have occurred globally.

Launching ANTARA, Saturday, November 2, a spokesman for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Clare Nullis, said at a UN press conference, "This year, almost every week, we see shocking images like this."

He added, "Heavy rains that broke records and flash floods that hit Spain, causing dozens of casualties, major disruptions, and massive economic losses, are the latest series of flood disasters that hit people around the world."

The world, he said, is facing an increasing problem, both due to excess water and water shortages. He said that any increase in one degree of air temperature could increase the saturated air capacity to accommodate water vapor by 7 percent in line with global climate warming.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that extreme weather events that cause flooding and drought have become more likely and more severe. These events could result from climate change caused by human activity related to pollution or the environment, the WMO spokesperson said.

"A similar severe storm has occurred in the Mediterranean basin in the past, showing the vulnerability of the region to such events," said Nullis.

Heavy storms in Spain resulted in rainfall equivalent to the amount of rain a year in just a few hours, causing rivers to overflow and trigger flash floods in the Valencia, Spain region. The streets quickly turned into rivers with heavy currents.

WMO's head of climate monitoring, Omar Baddour, said at the same press conference: that the Mediterranean basins are prone to severe storms and heavy cyclones throughout the year, especially at the end of summer. The arrival of cold air has an impact on small areas over Spain, Portugal, Northern Morocco, and France.

"This creates atmospheric instability in meteorological terms, which causes massive clouds and heavy rains at very limited locations. This phenomenon is widespread in the Mediterranean region. Many severe storms like this have occurred in the past."