Climate change is increasing the chances of a California 'megaflood,' experts warn
Climate change has doubled the chances of a major devastating flood in California in the next four decades, a new study says.
As California grapples with the spread of wildfires and severe drought, the threat of flooding may seem like an unlikely cause for concern. However, a new study warns that the state could be hit by a "megaflood" in the not-too-distant future, potentially putting millions across the state at risk.
The study, published Friday in the journal Sciences Advances, found that climate change has already doubled the chances of an event "capable of producing catastrophic flooding" in California in the next four decades.
The study acknowledges that the state is "more accustomed to water scarcity than overabundance in the modern era," with California experiencing two historically severe droughts between 2012 and 2021. However, it said historical and paleoclimate evidence suggests the state is also subject to episodes of increased rainfall, with climate change potentially expediting the possibility of a major storm in the future.
The state has seen extreme precipitation and severe subregional flooding events a number of times during the 20th century, including in 1969, 1986 and 1997, the study notes. But while those incidents hint at the "latent potential" of a future major flood, "none have rivaled ... the benchmark 'Great Flood of 1861–1862,'" the study said.
An illustration of Sixth Street in Sacramento after flooding in 1862.Biblioteca Ambrosiana / De Agostini via Getty ImagesThat event, it noted, "was characterized by weekslong sequences of winter storms" that "produced widespread catastrophic flooding across virtually all of California’s lowlands — transforming the interior Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys into a temporary but vast inland sea nearly 300 miles in length."
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