Floods are submerging whole houses in Nigeria. At least 80 have died trying to escape from the flooding in Katsina state. At least 14 houses in a church in the state capital, Katsina metallurgic belt are submerged. In the coastal city of Mubi, the sea has flooded many houses and many people are fleeing to the city centre for safety.
The floods are following heavy downpour and strong winds in which several houses, roads and bridges have collapsed. One person was killed when a house collapsed on top of him following a flash flooding of the city. In the state capital, the rain caused rivers to flow at very high rates.
In another incident, a man died after he ventured into a flood in a dry river bed. According to the man, his wife was driving him home when the vehicle hit a submerged car. At another house, four people died after they ventured into a flooded dry river bed. They were trying to rescue a child who was trapped under the collapsed house.
The rains and the floods are a result of a long lasting El Niño event. These tropical storms are usually associated with a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of El Niño events. El Niños are the product of the warm waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the increased level of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere. This is also associated with a decrease in global sea levels.
The global sea level is currently declining at the rate of between four-elevenths of a millimeter a year. However, El Niño events have a significant impact. The current global warming effect is the product of the global climate being warmer than normal or a continuation of the pattern for a longer period of time to be determined.
During the 1970s, a warmer El Niño was observed at this time which lasted into the early 1980s. Sea levels were rising at this time and this global warming effect was still occurring. However, more recent observations indicate that the period of global warming has ended. According to the UN, global warming will continue for another 20 or 30 years but there will be a pause in global warming.
For the moment, it is uncertain that global warming will continue. Global warming will only continue as long as there is sufficient greenhouse gases for a significant warming to occur.
Climate change is a natural process