Flood risk and climate change
Global and regional perspectives
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Author / Producer
Date
2014
Publication Type
Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
A holistic perspective on changing rainfall-driven flood risk is provided for the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Economic losses from floods have greatly increased, principally driven by the expanding exposure of assets at risk. It has not been possible to attribute rain-generated peak streamflow trends to anthropogenic climate change over the past several decades. Projected increases in the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall, based on climate models, should contribute to increases in precipitation-generated local flooding (e.g. flash flooding and urban flooding). This article assesses the literature included in the IPCC SREX report and new literature published since, and includes an assessment of changes in flood risk in seven of the regions considered in the recent IPCC SREX report—Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, North America, Oceania and Polar regions. Also considering newer publications, this article is consistent with the recent IPCC SREX assessment finding that the impacts of climate change on flood characteristics are highly sensitive to the detailed nature of those changes and that presently we have only low confidence in numerical projections of changes in flood magnitude or frequency resulting from climate change.
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Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
59 (1)
Pages / Article No.
1 - 28
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Floods; Climate change; Global change; Attribution; Uncertainty; Inondations; Changement climatique; Changement global; Attribution; Incertitude
Organisational unit
03778 - Seneviratne, Sonia / Seneviratne, Sonia
Notes
Received 19 October 2012, Accepted 28 August 2013