Does an unusually cold and rainy spell in central Europe in early August mean that climate change is a hoax? No, that's not true: weather and climate are not the same things, and heavier precipitation, harsher winters, and other weather anomalies, happen in a warming world.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by TikTok on Aug.3 featuring a person trying to eat and drink wine in a heavy rain downpour. The caption which includes laughing emojis is in Czech, and as translated by Lead Stories staff, it reads:
Save the planet. Climate change and global warming, we´ve got to do something about it.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Aug 7 06:57:51 2023 UTC)
While weather is defined as a short-term atmospheric condition, climate is the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time. Thus climate change refers to long-term changes. Scientific evidence continues to show that human activity has led to the warming of the Earth´s surface and ocean basins, leading to climate change, NASA writes. The vast majority of published scientists, 97 percent, agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change, according to NASA.
In early August 2023, the Czech Republic and neighboring countries were hit by heavy rains and thunderstorms, along with lower temperatures. At the same time, Slovenia, another country in the Central European region, experienced the worst flooding in its history, the BBC reported on August 6.
Climate change can affect the intensity and frequency of precipitation, as more water evaporates into the atmosphere. The region´s rainy weather cannot be taken as a sign that climate change and global warming are not happening, instead, it is in line with what scientists expect, Ales Farda, a climatologist at the Czech Academy of Sciences, told Lead Stories by phone on August 7.
Episodes of extreme weather, including heavy, intense downpours of rain or snow, extreme Arctic cold, or tornadoes, are part of how climate change manifests itself in the region, Farda said. While total precipitation may be higher in some parts of the country, the region is still threatened by drought due to higher overall temperatures.
Climate change is affecting all regions around the world. The European Commission, for instance, lists several consequences of climate change in Europe, including threats to social order here.
