Maybe for someone global warming wears hypothetical in nature, but not for coastal residents cities and towns of Alaska. For the local population, climate change becomes everyday reality, threatening to devour homes and households. An example of the fate of many points in Alaska is Kivalin town, located on the shores of the Bering Sea. Four hundreds of residents have been anxiously watching for 20 years as water conquers his area, turning it into more and more narrower strip of sushi. 
Photo from open sources The US Army Corps of Engineers proposed to develop a project to protect the town from impending ocean, but the military were forced to admit that under existing Kivalin’s tendencies cannot be saved. Expert Matt Sampson believes that the town may completely disappear by 2025. In the USA, even the special term “America’s climate refugees” appeared applied to Alaskans who left their homes due to climate change. A resident of one of the coastal villages of Alaska, Nathan Tom says: “Global warming is real for us, and it will change a lot. “It seems like a global cause catastrophic floods in the Far East are global same climate change. At least, such an opinion was expressed Director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia Roman Wilfand. It is these changes climate created unprecedented conditions for starting the mechanism Amur Flood. But his immediate culprit was Wilfand’s expression, “completely abnormal air circulation masses over the Asian territory of Russia. ”
Very warm and humid air prevailed over China, and north, over Yakutia, the temperature was quite moderate. From This created, scientifically speaking, a very large gradient, but easier say the temperature difference. This “potential difference” formed the so-called frontal zone, along which it rained continuously for two months. And it determined extreme inflow of water never recorded before rivers.
A photo from open sources
In other words, right along the southern border of Russia, directly over the catchments of fairly large rivers – Zeya, Bureya, Sungari, Ussuri, Amur himself, as an unstoppable cyclone walked along the corridor. Literally cubic kilometers of water poured onto it from the earth, which rolled right into the river channels. Well, then everything is according to the laws physicists: water does not fit in them, rises, spills, floods territories, cities and villages. According to the Ministry of Eastern Development, in our Far East, 7 to 10 thousand houses are flooded, suffered – thank God, only property, without casualties – almost 100 thousands of people. There are 130 settlements in the flood zone. The total flood damage could exceed 30 billion rubles.
“This has never happened before; nothing like it ever happened! – exclaims the same Villefand. – This is not something that is not typical, but extreme circulation situation! ”
Since the 50s of the last century, when regular sounding of these territories, floods were noted, but what happening today – the rarest of rare situations. True first Russian settlers saw a large flood on the Amur River through three years after the accession of this region to the Empire – in 1861. After 11 years, the flood was even higher. In general, noticeable floods occur on average every three years, large – every 20. The last time greatly flooded these areas in 2007 year. And almost always the floods were preceded by strong and heavy rains. However, not the same as this year.
The threat is primarily that the current abnormal situation runs the risk of becoming regular in the very near future.
The fact is that serious changes in the atmosphere are gaining momentum due to warming in the polar regions. So, the current spontaneous Disasters are one of the derivatives of global climate change. “Probably,” Villefand cautiously adds, however.
Is there anything you can do about this? And in general – whether in human forces?
To a large extent – yes, experts say. The fact is that the bulk – 75–80 percent of the total Amur catchment accounted for by tributaries from the Russian side of the river. So you can theoretically consider measures to regulate the flow of them in some distressing situations. In practice, these measures boil down, in general, to one – a massive construction of dams on these rivers. Cascades of them can play the role of a valve, regulating water discharge. At the same time – and already in constant mode – the hydropower plants built here will produce a current that will gradually recoup the costs incurred during construction. But this, of course, is the level of the federal program and in any case long. The same Bureyskaya hydroelectric station, which today brought such an invaluable benefit, built, for example, for more than 30 years. In the meantime …
While the Hydrometeorological Center predicts the continuation of rains, and continuation of the flood. “Precipitation is still forecasted now, – says Wilfand. – Especially in the area of Sungari, Ussuri, in the Amur area. A very difficult situation will continue on the rivers. Not just abnormal, but extreme water levels are expected in Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur “.
In Khabarovsk, for example, the water level in 600 cm, but today it has reached 773 cm. It is possible that water rises above 8 meters.
“Peak levels are yet to come,” – sadly stated Head of the Hydrometeorological Center.
According to the media
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