The climate factor in Libya’s deadly floods

Catastrophic flooding in Libya last week left an estimated 10,000 people dead or missing. Today, we report from the ground and explain how warming oceans and a hotter planet contributed to the scale of the disaster.

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At the end of what has already been a summer of extremes, floods have spanned the globe with remarkable intensity in recent weeks. Countries from Spain to Brazil to Japan have been inundated. Libya was hit the hardest last week, with catastrophic flooding in coastal cities such as Derna and Sousa that left an estimated 10,000 people dead or missing. And while the causes for these catastrophes vary, they all have one thing in common: climate change. 

Today, foreign correspondent Louisa Loveluck reports from Libya, bringing us the extraordinary story of one family that narrowly survived the floods. 

Then, global weather reporter Scott Dance explains how the world’s oceans, warmed by record-breaking heat, are making storms more intense and more dangerous.