There is a need for systematic action to safeguard against flooding; here, Professor Günter Blöschl from the Vienna University of Technology, the University of Bologna elaborates further
The climate crisis is already transforming the world around us, with extreme flooding only set to intensify over the next 10 years, according to the World Economic Forum Risk report.
As global temperatures climb, storms grow stronger and rainfall becomes more erratic. This changing climate is not just about hotter summers or disappearing glaciers; it’s about entire communities being submerged, economies disrupted, and lives lost due to increasingly frequent and severe floods.
To confront these escalating threats with precision and urgency, policymakers must integrate cutting-edge scientific research to craft solutions grounded in the realities of our rapidly changing world.
Protecting against extreme weather: Stop the flood
Flooding is a complex phenomenon, with a wide range of causes that go far beyond rising sea levels. In Europe alone, floods can stem from coastal storms, overflowing rivers, heavy snowmelt, or flash floods triggered by intense thunderstorms.
Each event has its own fingerprint, shaped by geography, atmospheric conditions and human intervention. Yet despite these differences, there’s a clear pattern emerging: in many parts of the world, floods are getting worse, and climate change is one of the driving forces.
What makes this situation even more urgent is that flooding risk doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It intersects with many other crises, from urban expansion and poor infrastructure to social inequality and public health.
A warmer atmosphere means not only potentially heavier rainfall but also shifts in global wind patterns, such as the expansion of the Hadley cell.
This has pushed storm tracks northward, making Northern Europe wetter, while Southern Europe grows drier – further complicating the already uneven impacts of flooding.
In small catchment areas, where streams and rivers respond quickly to rain, the risks are especially high. Convective storms – short, intense and local – are becoming more common in these regions, leading to devastating flash floods. Measurements suggest increasing heavy rainfall of short duration, with rising flood runoff trends of 5–10% per decade for small streams in places like northern Austria.
Larger catchments behave differently. In these areas, it’s not just intense rain, but the accumulated effects of snowmelt, soil moisture and long-duration rainfall that matter. Some regions, such as Eastern Europe, are seeing fewer snow-related floods due to warmer winters, while others, like Northwestern Europe, face winter floods driven by saturated soils from wet autumns.
Land use and its affect on our world
And it’s not just climate. The way we use land – from dense urban development to agricultural compaction of soil – can amplify local flood risks, especially in smaller basins. Infrastructure built to manage water, like dams and river regulations, can sometimes backfire, shifting the risk downstream or reducing the land’s natural ability to absorb excess water.
These human factors play a role and need to be considered alongside climate adaptation.
A global response is required to safeguard against flooding and other weather extremes
The real challenge lies in how we respond. Too often, floods are seen as isolated disasters, met with emergency relief rather than long-term planning. But as the evidence shows, flooding is both a symptom and a multiplier of systemic risk, linked not only to climate, but to governance, development and societal resilience. Our current approach, which focuses on reacting to events rather than anticipating them, is leaving us dangerously exposed.
Integrated flood risk management offers a better path forward. This means combining smart spatial planning – like avoiding construction in high-risk areas – with effective engineering solutions, early warning systems and public education. It also requires policy coordination at every level, from local authorities to international institutions. Crucially, flood risk management must be tailored to each region’s unique geography and climate profile.
But to truly address the rising threat of flooding, we all need to think bigger.
We must stop treating climate impacts like disconnected challenges. Just as drought can lead to food crises, floods can displace populations, strain economies and deepen inequality. A systemic risk approach – one that connects the dots between climate, land use, infrastructure and public policy – is the only way to build resilience that lasts.
The future will bring more water to some places and less to others, but the uncertainty is itself a call to action. We already have the tools and knowledge to act. What’s missing is the urgency and political will to put systemic thinking at the heart of how we prepare for what’s coming.
Now is the time to act – not after the next flood.
