Climate change worsened rains and floods which killed dozens in southern Africa, study shows

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOMEJOHANNESBURG (AP) — Human-caused climate change worsened recent torrential rains and floods that devastated parts of southern Africa, killing more than 100 people and displacing hundreds of thousands, researchers said Thursday. Pinto, who co-authored the study, said the climate models used struggled to pinpoint exactly how much worse the recent floods were made by climate change, but that a 40% increase in the intensity of the rains would be impossible to explain without human-caused climate change. Around 1.3 million people across southern Africa were affected by this month’s floods, The World Health Organization said. Researchers seek Africa-focused climate modelsThe researchers also have called for the development of climate models in Africa in order to best understand the dynamics and extent of the impact of climate change in the continent’s various regions. “All climate models that we have that are freely available are developed outside of Africa.