Floods hit Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region two years in a row

Italy has declared a state of emergency for the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche after last week’s heavy flooding caused by Storm Boris – which earlier swept across Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria, killing at least 23 people and causing many rivers to overflow. A year ago, Emilia-Romagna faced similar floods after six months’ rain fell in a day and a half, causing billions of euros’ worth of damage. This time more than 1,000 people have been evacuated and two have been reported missing. Storm Boris was powered by unusually humid air caused by strong evaporation due to high water temperatures in the Mediterranean and Black Sea over the summer, mixing with cold air from northern Europe. The science of attributing weather events to climate change is complicated but it’s clear that what used to be “once-in-a-century” storms aren’t any more.