$10 Billion — Cost of U.S. Floods in 2011 Related to Global Warming

 

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Percentage of the contiguous U.S. either in severe or greater drought (top 10% dryness) or extremely wet (top 10% wetness) during the period January – November, as computed using NOAA’s Climate Extremes Index. Remarkably, more than half of the country (56%) experienced either a top-ten driest or top-ten wettest year, a new record. Image credit: NOAA/NCDC.

No, no single weather event can be definitively linked to global warming, statistically. But everyone knows what global warming has been predicted to cause, and everyone can see it’s happening. More from Think Progress:

CoreLogic “estimates flood losses in the U.S. this year at approximately $10.67 billion, based on various flooding and storm events recorded in the National Climate Data Center.” The extreme flooding was caused by the most extreme hydrologic conditions in the United States in history — most of the nation was in either extreme deluge or extreme drought. Global warming pollution has driven up temperatures, atmospheric water vapor, and storm intensity, creating a perfect storm of catastrophic floods across the United States.

More on our record wet/dry extremes in 2011 here: 2011 — Record for Wet/Dry Extremes in U.S.

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