A study reveals that Europe is going through a historic period of more frequent and severe floods, altering the interpretation of past events. The research highlights that climate change is affecting the magnitude of these floods.
Europe is in an exceptional period of frequent and severe flooding, as noted by an international study published in Nature. The research, which involves the Universitat de Barcelona, reconstructs a series of extraordinary floods that occurred between 1342 and 1343, showing that it was not a single isolated event, but a succession of 16 major floods in various regions of the continent.
The study, coordinated by the Vienna University of Technology, reveals that the year 1342 witnessed the highest number of major floods in the last 700 years. It is estimated that four of these episodes had an exceptional magnitude, with return periods between 500 and 1,000 years. Current climatic conditions are warmer than in previous times, exacerbating the situation.
To reach these conclusions, researchers have analysed over a thousand historical records, combining chronicles and contemporary documentation with sedimentary evidence and modern hydrological methodologies. According to the professor at UB, Lothar Schulte, “risk planning should not only anticipate the possibility of a major isolated event but also sequences of extreme floods.”
The floods of 1342 and 1343 resulted in numerous deaths and the destruction of infrastructure, severely affecting transport networks and causing food shortages. Currently, climate change is altering the frequency and magnitude of river floods, which concerns researchers. It has been identified that the last three decades are one of the most abundant periods for flooding in Europe in the last 500 years, with a climate warmer than in previous periods.
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