YCHANGE

Young Scientists as Change Explorers

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Project Sample: Flooding in Switzerland

This zip file contains:

  • An overview of the sample project "Flooding in Switzerland",
  • The instructions for completing the sample project "Flooding in Switzerland" (base year 2016),
  • The instructions for completing the sample project "Flooding in Switzerland" (base year 2015)

Project description

The majority of natural hazards driven by climate change belong to the hydro-meteorological grouping including for example floods and drought. Risk, frequency and intensity of these hazards in an area are influenced by changes in climatic variables.

Overall, hydro-meteorological hazards are considered a greater threat than geophysical hazards such as earthquakes or landslides, given the extensive areas affected. The EEA (2012) identifies river flooding together with wind related storms as the most important natural hazards in the EU in terms of economic loss. The spatial distribution of high and very high flood hazard risk did not change significantly from 2002 to 2012. However, flood occurrence is projected to increase even further with climate change. The main reason for high flood occurrence is the general increase in winter precipitation, apparent in almost all regions of Europe except in the Mediterranean.

The students assess the regional impact of floodings in Switzerland by analysing satellite images and evaluate respective consequences for people and their environment.