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How do intense droughts and extreme flooding coexist together? Welcome to the "New Normal" of regional weather fueled by changes in global climate, Reuters reports.
"It's a new normal and I really do think that global weirding is the best way to describe what we're seeing," climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University explained.
Catastrophic rainstorms and tornado activity in the United States has coincided with prolonged drought, sometimes in the same region, she said, noting that West Texas has seen a record-setting dry period over the last several years, even as there have been two 100-year rain events.
"We are used to certain conditions and there's a lot going on these days that is not what we're used to, that is outside our current frame of reference," Hayhoe said on a conference call with other experts, organized by the non-profit Union of Concerned Scientists.
Hayhoe, other scientists, civic planners and a manager at the giant Swiss Re reinsurance firm pin the cause on human-influenced climate change as the primary factor for more extreme weather. Although climate change cannot be blamed for any specific weather event, Hayhoe said a background of climate change had an impact on every rainstorm, heat wave or cold snap.
"What we're seeing is the new normal is constantly evolving," said Nikhil da Victoria Lobo of Swiss Re's Global Partnerships team. "Globally what we're seeing is more volatility ... there's certainly a lot more integrated risk exposure."
Comment: They will never say for sure because they are either paid by BP, or silenced by government agencies.