It is no news to anyone that the UK is in the middle of a very, very, very hot summer. The country had its first-ever 40°C daylast month. The heat wave has brought unprecedented extreme weather alerts, fires and life hazards.
's hosepipe ban is in effect,'s drought is due to be declared tomorrow, and the heat is not letting up.
Such a situation is almost unheard of in the UK, but is common in California's Death Valley, famously known as the hottest place on earth.
But the opposite is happening in the desert basins flooded by last Friday's storm.
Flash floods were described by Daniel Burke, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Las Vegas, as a "one in 1,000 years" event with a 0.1% chance of occurring. rice field.
Approximately 38 mm of rain fell over Death Valley in just three hours. This represents 75% of the park's average annual rainfall.
About 1,000 people were stranded in the park for several hours after the roads were impassable due to water.
Footage shows people rolling up their trousers and sifting running water on foot, as well as people waiting near their cars for the water to come out.
Eventually the roads were reopened and everyone was able to leave the park on the same day.
No fatalities or injuries were reported, but rescuers spent his week searching the park from above.
Friday failed to break Death Valley's daily rainfall record, but the storm brought more rain than his previous August.
This time of year typically sees one tenth of the rainfall of the previous week.
According to NASA maps, the amount of water filling streams in the park has increased dramatically, saturating the soil around them.
Death Valley administrator Mike Reynolds said the flooding has made the park "a place where you can see climate change in action."
Activists have long warned of extreme weather and natural disasters brought about by climate change.
Scientists led by the University of Cambridge recently stated that ``there are good reasons to suspect that climate change could lead to a global catastrophe. published a paper.
Dr. Luke Kemp, lead author, Center for Survival Risk Research, Cambridge, said:
"It has helped collapse empires and shaped history. Even the modern world seems to have adapted to specific climate niches.
“The road to disaster is not limited to the direct effects of extreme weather and other high temperatures.
“Financial crises, conflicts, Ripple effects, such as new disease outbreaks, can trigger other disasters and impede recovery from potential disasters such as nuclear war."
The team urged the government. Foster more research and do more to avert the “Four Horsemen” in the final phase of climate change: famine and malnutrition, extreme weather, conflict and vector-borne diseases.
Please contact the news team by sending an email to webnews@metro.co.uk.
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