Anthropocene climate and landscape change that increases flood disasters

Abstract

Global increase in flood frequency and magnitude are caused by anthropogenic activities. From 1980 to 2009, floods have resulted in more than 500,000 deaths and affected above 2.8 billion people worldwide based a national climate assessment.1 Thus, anthropogenic activities have presented great concerns toward regions affected by disastrous floods in the past. Determining possible human activities which have greatly influenced the magnitude and frequency of past flooding in developed and developing countries is the focus of this paper. Anthropogenic activities contribute to flooding through landscape modification and atmospheric changes. Implications of these findings should be included in policy decision making to address their impact on flooding to reduce flooding vulnerability. Landscape modification through urbanization, deforestation and large-scale agricultural practices promotes flooding in urban and rural areas. On the other hand, anthropogenic atmospheric changes have contributed to flood disasters. Industrialization in developing countries increases carbon emissions, activating the ‘aerosol-enhanced conditional instability’ mechanism. As a result of this, Sichuan experienced a catastrophic flooding in 2013. Also, rainfall levels in urban areas have risen due to the ‘urban heat island’ effect. In recent years, anthropogenic activities have played a crucial role in major flooding events and further research will help manage and mitigate flood risks.