As human-caused climate change continues, communities across the world are experiencing supercharged weather patterns and their drawn-out effects.
Floodwaters in New South Wales, Australia, for example, are retreating after heavy rains, leaving residents and officials to process the death and destruction left in their wake.
What's happening?
According to a June 2 report from the Guardian, it was a low-pressure system developing off the coast of southeastern Australia around mid-May that brought historic rainfall and flooding to the region.
In a late-May report, the publication said that at least five people had died. Floodwaters also impacted around 10,000 properties, leaving more than 1,000 buildings "deemed uninhabitable."
The Guardian also shared before-and-after photos revealing the severity of the disaster.
According to earlier reports from the BBC, around 50,000 people had been left stranded by the extreme weather event.
Australian officials and volunteers have been working together to clean up and assess the extensive damage from the record-breaking rains. Other parts of the country have recently experienced flooding as well as droughts.
Why is this extreme weather concerning?
"Tragically, we're seeing more extreme weather events," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a press conference in flood-wrecked Maitland. "They're occurring more frequently and they're more intense."
The events in Australia mirror those transpiring all over the world. Hurricanes batter regions around the Gulf of Mexico year after year. A rare frost event just wreaked havoc on Turkish crops in April. Catastrophic wildfires destroyed much of the Los Angeles area in 2024, tanking air quality there as well.
While natural disasters like flooding have always existed, scientists generally agree that heat-trapping pollution is driving global temperatures and exacerbating extreme weather events, making them more powerful and more dangerous.
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I'd pay for it myself 💪 One reason why a changing climate can increase rainfall to record levels, like those reached in New South Wales, is that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture.
And after that moisture is unleashed?
Severe flooding can have lasting effects on communities long after floodwaters recede and cleanups commence. According to a 2024 publication in Nature Medicine and covered by Scientific American, death rates and hospital visits can be higher than usual for weeks after an extreme weather event.
Major floods can also have extensive impacts on food supplies. The flooding in New South Wales is hitting farmers hard while producers in other parts of the country have recently wrestled with drought.
"It's too late in the season to be able to re-sow and grow pasture," Rebecca Reardon, vice president of the NSW Farmers, told the Guardian. "You're running into the hundreds of millions [in losses]."
Such agricultural challenges can lead to financial consequences and food insecurity for farmers and consumers worldwide.
What can be done about major flooding and its effects?
"Recovery is going to take time," Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio in late May. "We will be there for the long haul, and we'll work with NSW and local councils on ongoing support where it's needed."
Cleanup and restoration efforts will be critical in the weeks and months ahead. But as flooding and other extreme weather events become increasingly frequent and intense, investment in prevention is also key.
Experts, advocates, lawmakers, and community members can collaborate on infrastructure and programs to prepare. And transitioning from dirty to clean energy sources en masse and individually can be a part of the puzzle. That's because renewable energy systems can reduce heat-trapping gases to mitigate rising global temperatures, help homeowners navigate lengthy power outages, and cut bills in the wake of costly damage.
Leveraging solar panels, for example, especially in combination with a battery system, can help make a home more resilient to storm-related outages that can knock out grids for days and weeks. And while installations can feel intimidating, free resources like the tools from EnergySage, which currently focuses primarily on the United States, can help residents compare quotes from vetted local installers, with the potential for up to $10,000 in savings.
Neighbors can come together to share and compare information too. Learning about weatherizing buildings in accordance with local needs, understanding safe evacuation routes and procedures, and supporting pro-environment policies can all be made more possible when coordinating as a community.
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