Extreme Floods

Why is the content of this map important?

Floods have a major impact on livelihoods, either directly (human losses) or indirectly, such as economic losses (e.g. the 2013 floods in Central Europe resulted in over €12bn loss). As researchers agree that future climate and the environment will change greatly, it is fundamental to study how this will impact flood risks.

Which sectors are affected by this result?

Several sectors are affected by floods, including transport and tourism, as well as infrastructures that cross over various sectors (e.g. buildings, flood defenses, etc.).

What is shown on the maps?

Flood magnitudes are expected to increase significantly south of 60oN, except for some regions (Bulgaria, Poland, South Spain) where the changes are not significant. These increases are caused by increases in extreme precipitation. North of 60oN, floods are projected to decrease in most of Finland, North-West Russia and North Sweden, though in South Sweden and some coastal areas of Norway there may be an increase in floods. The decreases in North Europe are mainly due to decreases in snow fall since here most of the floods are caused by spring snowmelt.

Details and further information:

These results are based on simulations from three hydrological models. The first map for the baseline period is in m3/s (cubic meters per second), same goes for the +2C period (second map). In the third map, relative change is shown and the results are expressed in percentages (%).

Additional information: