Watching the Weather Again

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For five years it was sunny almost every day in Switzerland. It was sunny so often that the water tables declined and village fountains dried up, as did fields. Clouds of dust could be seen rising when tractors worked the fields. It's because of this excellent weather, for years in a row, that I stopped looking at weather apps.

Now, weather is interesting again. Two or three weeks ago Geneva flooded. A few days ago Zermatt flooded, and, now Morges has flooded too. So many places are flooding. This is due to weather weirding on one side, but also climate change on the other. With more heat the clouds can store more water, and when they meet a cold front a deluge may ensue.

The other issue is that villages are replacing villas with apartment buildings. Where there was grass, and gardens, and trees, you have tarmac and cement. The result is that water can no longer drain into the soil. It runs down hill until it finds basements, garages and other places.

it flooded the streets of Morges yesterday, and parkings in Geneva a few weeks ago, and the streets of Zermatt just a few days ago. Because of the droughts people forgot that water needs to be able to flee, to go into empty fields, and rivers, and gardens.

A tree captures water before it hits the ground. A few weeks ago I was hiking in a forest and the trees kept us dry. It might have been raining but the leaf canopy kept us dry.

If you remove trees you increase not only the speed with which rain hits the ground but also the speed at which it runs off from the ground. That runoff looks like nothing higher up but once it hits Morges, or Geneva, it floods.

Gardens with trees also help to slow down the flow of water. A garden can absorb rain, and if it can't absord it then puddles form. Trees suck up some of that moisture and store it. The rain might be heavy but it has plenty of places where it can be buffered.

In contrast, as villages replace every green space in villages with apartments and tarmac parkings, so the opportunity for rain to flee, to be absorbed is gone. That's when flooding occurs. That's when underground parkings and ground floors flood.

## And Finally

Although it is frustrating to have rain forecast for every weekend this summer it is nice to see how nature is thriving, thanks to the rain. For years nature was on survival mode. I noticed that the dirt under an underpass has now been replaced with nature thriving. Nature has really benefitted from all the rain that has fallen this year.