Major floods that used to happen only once in 100 years now occur every 10 or 20 years, and even more often in some regions, destroying lives, homes and businesses and threatening wildlife, and we need to ask why.
Climate change is not the only reason:
- Upstream forests can soak up a lot of water which then lands up in underground resources, but humans are stripping these forests and thereby increasing the risk of flooding;
- Humans are draining the wetlands that act as sponges and soak up a lot of moisture to make room for agriculture and development;
- Over-grazing, logging and other practices that strip the land of vegetation are leaving huge swathes of open land that do not allow rain to sink into the earth, causing flooding and landslides.
We can significantly soften the impact of climate change on flooding by stopping deforestation and reversing it by reforesting upstream areas as well as ceasing to drain any more wetlands and restoring wetlands that have already been damaged.
Extreme droughts have been felt in Australia for many years, in the Amazon in 2005, over a few years in the Western United States, and in Sub-Saharan Africa:
- The 2003 heatwave in Europe cost almost 40,000 lives; 17,000 deaths in France alone were linked to it; and
- The drought in the Amazon decimated the population who depend on fisheries.
We all need to save water, recycle it and ensure that we treat the planet better if we are to mitigate the devastation caused by climate change. Use only grey water on your garden, and shower instead of bathing.
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