2015 Articles

Overstromingen in Malawi en Mozambique

Van Oldenborgh, Geert Jan; Kruczkiewicz, Andrew J.; van Aalst, Maarten

In mid-January, Malawi and Mozambique were hit by heavy rainfall that caused major impact with hundreds dead and more than three hundred thousand displaced. A major international aid operation was set up by the United Nations and the International Red Cross to help the most affected. The question arises again and again how rare this extreme rainfall is and whether this is (partly) caused by climate change. We are working with an international group, including KNMI and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center, to set up a system that can answer these kinds of questions. We will use the parts that have already been completed here to provide a partial answer to the above question and to provide insight into problems that we encounter in practice. (translated)