According to Oleg Listopad, an ecologist and expert of the National Interests Protection Network of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, the abnormal heat at the beginning of autumn in Ukraine and the powerful floods in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe have a clear explanation.
Points of attention
- Ecologist Oleg Listopad explains the link between abnormal heat in Ukraine and powerful floods in Eastern and Central Europe to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
- European countries establish 'red lines' to identify safety limits during extreme precipitation events, urging the need for adaptation to changing weather conditions.
- Listopad emphasizes the importance of reducing emissions and fossil fuel usage to combat climate change, highlighting the impact of global temperature rise and increased atmospheric moisture.
- The ecologist stresses the need for countries, including Ukraine, to develop strategies and 'red lines' to mitigate the effects of large-scale floods and natural disasters.
- Ukrainian ecologists advocate for specific measures to address climate change, adapt to environmental challenges, and increase access to fossil fuels while reducing emissions.
What influenced the abnormally warm autumn in Ukraine and large-scale floods in EU countries
November emphasized that there is nothing unusual about the heavy rainfall in early autumn, but the key question is whether the authorities in the countries are ready to respond to these weather conditions.
There is nothing strange about floods. Just like in some dry period... Let's remember that not so long ago there were also floods in our western regions. There is nothing special about it. The question is how strong these phenomena are and how often they occur. These are the consequences of what experts call climate change, when the global average temperature increases, and it increases due to the fact that greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere, that is, the amount of carbon, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, and because of this, the atmosphere heats up, — notes the ecologist .
According to him, the more moisture will accumulate in the atmosphere, the more precipitation will fall at the same time.
November emphasized that the countries of Eastern and Central Europe were covered by a cyclone, which provoked such a large amount of precipitation, which led to large-scale floods.
He also explained that in EU countries there are corresponding "red lines" in case of abnormally large amount of precipitation.
For events that occur with such great force once every 50 years, it is approximately clear where the water can rise — these conditional lines are drawn on maps, and whoever builds below these lines will not receive any compensation from the state. And no company will insure, if there is, then at such interest rates that the owner of such real estate will not want to insure, — explains Listopad.
He noted that the Emergency Situations Service of Ukraine should have developed similar "red lines" even before the beginning of this year.
What methods of combating climate change does the ecologist see
The ecologist noted that the first way to respond to global climate change is to fight against these changes, while the alternative involves adapting to these changes.
Reduce emissions, reduce the use of fossil fuels. Stop the war, in particular in Ukraine, because oil depots are burning, forests are burning due to shelling, etc. Funds are spent to stop climate change, — explains Listopad.
He noted that Ukrainian ecologists are talking about this at all sites.
The expert said that it is not the first time that such a warm autumn has been observed in Ukraine, and in particular, he mentioned the year 2020.
According to him, then autumn was "even worse", and after it was a winter with little snow. Then the State Agency for Water Resources limited water use.
In particular, there were restrictions for energy workers, there was not enough water even in reservoirs. The fires that happened in 2020 were terrible.
