--- title: Is Climate Change Causing the Deadly Floods in Europe? description: Experts say the most severe floods to hit Central Europe in at least two decades fit into a broader pattern of extreme weather events. canonical: https://time.com/7022414/europe-floods-climate-change/ author: Anna Gordon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-09-18T17:23:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T18:18:40.054Z article:section: Climate og:title: Is Climate Change Causing the Deadly Floods in Europe? og:description: Experts say the most severe floods to hit Central Europe in at least two decades fit into a broader pattern of extreme weather events. og:url: https://time.com/7022414/europe-floods-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f84a1594610cd2/698a5afbb21a9cfd8850a796/central-europe-floods-07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: central-europe-floods-07 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Is Climate Change Causing the Deadly Floods in Europe? twitter:description: Experts say the most severe floods to hit Central Europe in at least two decades fit into a broader pattern of extreme weather events. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f84a1594610cd2/698a5afbb21a9cfd8850a796/central-europe-floods-07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Is Climate Change Causing the Deadly Floods in Europe? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=292f27df-e9eb-4222-9a07-c1869798d01a&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=292f27df-e9eb-4222-9a07-c1869798d01a&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=292f27df-e9eb-4222-9a07-c1869798d01a&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. Sep 18, 2024 5:23 PM UTC  Local residents escape rising flood waters in the Romanian village of Slobozia Conachi on Sept. 14, 2024. Local residents escape rising flood waters in the Romanian village of Slobozia Conachi on Sept. 14, 2024. Daniel Mihailescu—AFP/Getty Images by [Anna Gordon](https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Sep 18, 2024 5:23 PM UTC Central Europe has been plagued by intense flooding this week, killing at least 23 people, [according to Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-fortifies-towns-deadly-floods-afflict-central-europe-2024-09-17/). While it’s difficult to draw a conclusive link between this event and climate change, experts say the most severe floods to hit the region in at least two decades fit into a broader pattern of extreme weather events. “Changes in the climatic condition make these severe rainfall events much more likely, so it fits into the patterns of what climate experts see, but it's very difficult to pinpoint and say that a percentage of this is down to climate change,” saysSwenja Surminski, managing director of climate and sustainability at insurance firm Marsh McLennan and professor of climate risk management at the London School of Economics.  A woman kisses her dog while she fills sandbags to protect a family-owned restaurant next to the river Danube in Budapest on Sept. 17, 2024. Marton Monus—Reuters The flooding has most heavily impacted Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, and Poland, and while some countries are facing more devastation, others are starting to begin recovery.On Wednesday, volunteers and soldiers in Southern Poland tried to brace for further flooding by placing sandbags near river beds surrounding the city of Wroclaw in order to protect homes. Elsewhere, the Czech Republic reported another death due to the floods after police found the body of a 70-year-old woman who appeared to have been swept away by the waters in the Northeastern part of the country. With the exception of Southwestern Poland, the waters appear to be receding in most places, allowing authorities and residents to begin the process of cleaning up. The floods are caused by the slow-moving Storm Boris, which has brought an onslaught of intense rain. In the last four days, the storm has dumped five times the average amount of rainfall expected in September in the region. In the worst hit areas, such as Ostrava, Czech Republic, entire homes have been submerged under water, [according to aerial photographs](https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/more-rivers-spill-banks-central-european-floods-death-toll-rises-2024-09-16/). Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania—a country that has seen at least seven deaths due to the floods—said that the severe weather is a symptom of climate change [in a statement](https://www.presidency.ro/ro/media/comunicate-de-presa/declaratie-de-presa-a-presedintelui-romaniei-klaus-iohannis-in-urma-inundatiilor-severe-care-au-afectat-o-mare-parte-din-tara) published on Sept. 14\. “We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences,”he wrote.  Residents are evacuated by emergency workers after the Nysa Klodzka river flooded the town of Lewin Brzeski in southwestern Poland, on Sept. 17, 2024. Beata Zawrzel—Anadolu/Getty Images  Civilian volunteers secure buildings and streets against flooding with sandbags in Wroclaw, Poland on Sept. 18, 2024. Kacper Pempel—Reuters  An aerial view of the rising flood waters in the Romanian village of Slobozia Conachi on Sept. 14 2024. Daniel Mihailescu–—AFP/Getty Images Experts say while it is too early to definitively say whether climate change directly caused or exacerbated the ongoing disaster, the flooding is consistent with the extreme weather predicted to occur more frequently due to climate change. “It's really difficult to relate a single event to climate change impact,” says Paul Bates, a professor of hydrology at the University of Bristol who specializes in the science of flooding. Bates says that in order to definitively prove whether or not climate change contributed to the flooding in Europe, researchers will need to conduct an attribution study, which takes at least several weeks. “Every time we do an attribution study, we tend to find that the events we see have been exacerbated by climate change, and I'm pretty sure that will be the case here, but we don't yet conclusively know,” says Bates.  A local resident pushes a woman in a wheelchair past a destroyed building following the floods in Ladek-Zdroj, Poland, on Sept. 16, 2024. Mateusz Slodkowski—AFP/Getty Images  Residents are evacuated by emergency workers in the town of Lewin Brzeski in southwestern Poland, on Sept. 17th, 2024. Beata Zawrzel—Anadolu/Getty Images Another factor that may be contributing to the severe floods, however, is human activity and land-use change. Because most of the recent floods in Central Europe are river floods, says Bates, it makes the links between the flooding and climate change less straightforward. “It’s a much less clear picture for river flooding,” he says. Heavy rains can overwhelm rivers, making them more likely to overflow. But infrastructure decisions—be it dams and levees or new housing developments in floodplains—can play a part in how devastating, or not, that event might be. In the meantime, as these weather patterns become more common, Surminski cautions: “This is something we need to be better prepared for.”  A resident hugs her relative after being evacuated from her flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sept. 15, 2024. Petr David Josek—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7022414/europe-floods-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7022414/europe-floods-climate-change/"},"headline":"Is Climate Change Causing the Deadly Floods in Europe?","datePublished":"2024-09-18T17:23:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T18:18:40.054Z","description":"Experts say the most severe floods to hit Central Europe in at least two decades fit into a broader pattern of extreme weather events.","url":"https://time.com/7022414/europe-floods-climate-change/","keywords":["extreme weather","News Desk","Second click"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anna Gordon","jobTitle":"Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/extreme-weather/","name":"extreme weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7022414/europe-floods-climate-change/","name":"Is Climate Change Causing the Deadly Floods in Europe?"}}]}] ```