How ‘Unbuilding’ Can Help Weather Climate Disasters
US News
By: Laurie Mazu
Waters are rising everywhere, it seems. Earlier this year, storms flooded communities from California to Missouri. In the Upper Midwest, heavy snowpack melted during an unseasonable warm spell, inundating towns along the Mississippi River. And the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, found itself underwater after more than 2 feet of rain fell during an eight-hour period in April.
There’s more where that came from.
In a warming world, we can expect ever more devastating floods. That’s because a warmer atmosphere can contain more water vapor, which can mean more precipitation. As warming ocean water expands and glaciers melt, sea levels also rise, with grim implications for those who live along the coast.
