A Storm Maker Floods are causing disasters all over


the planet. Meteorologists are trying to discover why. T ey start with what they know. In Australia, they looked at a


normal weather pattern for answers. It’s called La Niña. In this pattern, a big patch of warm water moves close to Australia. Water vapor rises from it and storms form. Yet La Niña doesn’t explain why


there was so much rain in Australia. T e answer may lie in changes to Earth’s temperature.


The Heat Is On Earth is getting warmer. Just a small


change can make a big diff erence in the weather. T e ocean grows warmer. More water evaporates. More moisture rises into the air. More precipitation falls to the ground. T at may be why the rains were so bad in Australia and the U.S. Warmer temperatures in Pakistan


caused a second problem, too. Snow and ice in the mountains melted. T e water filled rivers. T en the rainy season began. T e rain led to the worst flood in the history of Pakistan.


20 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


Drying Out Weather patterns also can push


rain clouds away. T at may cause drought in some places. T at’s when everything is dry. Winds whip up dust storms. Grass dies. Dirt cracks. One tiny spark can start a forest fire. T is kind of climate change aff ects


the whole planet. It causes deadly heat waves. Plants lose their moisture in the intense heat. All the moisture in the ground evaporates. T at makes droughts worse.


Floods turned this sports stadium into a swimming pool.


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