Climate Change Made Texas Floods 20% to 30% More Severe - CleanTechnica

The catastrophic floods that struck Central Texas in July 2025 resulted in at least 120 deaths, numerous missing persons, widespread homelessness, and billions of dollars in economic damage. Scientific climate attribution studies have established that human-caused climate change made these floods 20% to 30% more severe than they would have been otherwise. This increased severity is linked to a roughly 7% rise in rainfall intensity driven by warmer air holding more moisture—a relationship explained by the Clausius-Clapeyron principle, which states that for every degree Celsius of warming, air can hold about 7% more moisture. Since global temperatures have risen about 1.2°C since pre-industrial times, rainfall events have become heavier and more intense. This seemingly modest increase in precipitation has disproportionately large impacts on flooding. Hydrological research shows that a 7% increase in rainfall can cause peak floodwater levels to rise by 20% to 30%, turning previously manageable floods into life-threatening disasters. For example