2024 in photos: the world under water
By Reuters
December 17, 2024 at 1:00:01 PM
Parishioners carry a figure of the Virgin Mary from the Church of Paiporta to a dry and safe place, in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding, in Paiporta, Spain, November 1, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Manez
A drone view shows a cow in a flooded field, after floods in Tres Cachoeiras, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Diego Vara
In 2024, it often felt like it was flooding somewhere in the world. The floods took many forms: coastal homes were inundated as rising seas were pushed ashore by strong storms, torrential amounts of rain fell on an increasingly paved-over world, quickly melting snowpack caused rivers to burst their banks. Whether from lifeboats, makeshift workstations dragged through mud, helicopters, or with drones, Reuters photographers covered flooding in more than 45 countries this year.
A drone view shows an airplane sitting on a flooded runway at the airport in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
A man checks a damaged vehicle after devastating floods swept through the town after Hurricane Beryl passed off the Venezuelan coast, in Cumanacoa, Venezuela, July 2, 2024. REUTERS/Samir Aponte
A man carries bread as he walks towards a grocery store, on a flooded street in Bamako, Mali September 23, 2024.REUTERS/Aboubacar Traore
A man throws an object while standing on a section of a bridge destroyed during the aftermath of tropical storm Sara, in La Ceiba, Honduras, November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Esau Ocampo
Clothes are covered in mud inside a shop, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, near Valencia, Spain, November 2, 2024. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
A boy immerses himself in flood waters outside a home in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, in Rosenberg, Texas, U.S., July 8, 2024. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
A view of city hall's reflection at a flooded area in the downtown of Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Tila Kumari Humagain, 70, cries while being pictured as she asks for help standing in front of her collapsed house, which was swept away by the deadly flood following heavy rainfall, in Bhumidanda village of Panauti municipality, in Kavre, Nepal October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
A drone view shows a boat resting in a tennis court after it was washed ashore when Hurricane Milton passed through the area, in Punta Gorda, Florida, U.S., October 10, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
Rex Liberman moves his refrigerator outside before emptying it as he cleans out his house after it was flooded by Hurricane Helene in Steinhatchee, Florida, U.S., September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn
A flooded street is pictured in Canoas, at the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
Jorge, 34-year-old volunteer from Madrid, pauses on the street in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, November 5, 2024. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
A rescue worker carries a woman, following heavy rainfalls in Ostrava, Czech Republic, September 16, 2024. REUTERS/David W Cerny
A drone view shows flooded houses in Venek, Hungary, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Fedja Grulovic
A drone view shows the flood-affected area following heavy rainfall in Ostrava, Czech Republic, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/David W Cerny
A man sleeps inside a restaurant affected by floods in Biyagama, Sri Lanka June 3, 2024. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
(Reuters) - In 2024, it often felt like it was flooding somewhere in the world.
The floods took many forms: coastal homes were inundated as rising seas were pushed ashore by strong storms, torrential amounts of rain fell on an increasingly paved-over world, quickly melting snowpack caused rivers to burst their banks.
Whether from lifeboats, makeshift workstations dragged through mud, helicopters, or with drones, Reuters photographers covered flooding in more than 45 countries this year.
The floods took over 1,000 lives, displaced millions of people, and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. For many it will take years to recover. And much - flattened cars, contaminated store stock, mud-drenched belongings - will never be replaced.
People evacuated in boats, tubs and whatever they could lay their hands on. They rescued their pets, cleaned mud from their kitchens, and dried out books when the sun returned. Children played in the unexpected novelty of the water and the elderly wept for the houses they had built that had gone forever.
In the most severe cases — even before the waters had receded — scientists got to work on rapid analyses that asked to what extent climate change amplified a certain storm or rainfall event.
In fifteen of the sixteen analyses that World Weather Attribution scientists undertook in 2024 that looked at extreme rainfall events — from Valencia in Spain to Asheville in North Carolina, and from Brazil to Kenya — they found that climate change made the rainfall heavier or more likely.
Scientists have long predicted that an increase in the global temperature would create an increase in precipitation — although not evenly distributed — because a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor.
This year will be the hottest in the last 125,000 years, and the first to cross 1.5C (2.7F) since humans started burning coal, oil and gas to power economies. Already the planet has warmed about 1.3C above the pre-industrial average, corresponding to about a 10% increase in expected precipitation.
With global CO2 emissions hitting a record high in 2024, the compounding effects from this excess carbon will be affecting our weather for decades to come.
Climate change is also causing sea levels to rise, which makes some coastal flooding more likely or severe.
Scientists say the extent of a flood's damage to lives and property is largely attributed to other factors, including how much cement is in the environment, the topography or saturation of the ground, and if people were adequately warned ahead.
As irregular heavy rainfall becomes more common, experts say countries will need to invest in adapting the places people live, and how they notify their populations about risk.
(Writing by Ali Withers, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
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