RESEARCHERS at the University of Reading have warned Storm Christoph could become ‘the norm’.
Last month, Storm Christoph brought heavy rain and led to flood alerts in Twyford, Winnersh and Arborfield.
Dr Jess Neumann, a hydrologist from the University of Reading, said large scale flood events could become more frequent in the future.
“While it is not possible to directly attribute one flood event to climate change, we know that as our climate warns, the atmosphere is able to hold more moisture,” she explained.
“In a few years, we’ve experienced Storm Dennis, Storm Ciara and Storm Desmond which have all caused significant flood damage.”
Dr Neumann said there is no one-fix solution to preventing large scale flooding, and people will remain at risk.
“A combination of approaches, including long-term and temporary defences, natural flood management and redesign of towns and cities will be needed,” she added.
Professor Hannah Cloke, from the University, said Storm Christoph has issued a reminder of “just how costly it is to ignore the risks and fail to plan properly”.