In response to devastating floods that have claimed over 150 lives in Spain, the United Nations is emphasizing the need for immediate global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bolster early warning systems worldwide.

The extreme weather in Spain follows a troubling global pattern of increasingly frequent and intense weather events, a trend linked to climate change, according to Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “The flooding we’re seeing in Spain is just one of many extreme weather and water-related disasters around the world this year. Almost every week, we’re seeing shocking images of devastation,” she told journalists in Geneva.

In Spain, the Valencia region has been hardest hit, with some areas receiving an entire year’s worth of rainfall within just eight hours. The Spanish meteorological agency, AEMET, has been issuing continuous alerts via the common alerting protocol - a global standard for hazard warnings across all media. On Friday, the southwest province of Huelva was placed on red alert, the highest warning level.

The Spanish floods are part of a larger pattern, Nullis noted, recalling that parts of Central Europe also experienced unprecedented rainfall in mid-September. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change has made extreme weather events more likely and more severe.

The WMO’s recent report on global water resources highlights a warming atmosphere's role in accelerating the hydrological cycle. Rising temperatures lead to more atmospheric moisture, resulting in heavier rainfall and, consequently, flooding. “As the air warms, it becomes more moist,” Nullis explained. “Every additional fraction of warming increases atmospheric moisture content, which heightens the risk of extreme precipitation and flooding.”

Nullis stressed that immediate steps are essential to mitigate climate change impacts and prevent similar disasters worldwide. “A good start would be reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” she urged, adding that early warning systems must prompt “informed early action.”

The WMO will release its latest State of the Global Climate update at the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan later this month, providing more insights into the year’s extreme weather events and their connection to climate change.