COPENHAGEN: Parts of southeastern Denmark recorded a third more rain in one day than typically falls in the entire month of July, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).
On Monday, the DMI issued its first-ever red alert for “very dangerous” rain in the region, marking a historic weather event.
Some villages in the southeast received over 90 millimetres of rain in just 24 hours, exceeding the July monthly average of 66 millimetres by more than 36 percent.
“This is the first time we have issued alerts of this type since we began issuing warnings in 2000,“ said DMI meteorologist Henning Gissello.
The red alert remained in effect from Monday afternoon to Tuesday evening, with a stationary frontal zone causing prolonged heavy rainfall.
Nykobing Falster recorded the highest urban downpour at 86.3 millimetres, compared to the national 24-hour average of just 22 millimetres.
Gissello noted that early warnings helped authorities mitigate damage, but cautioned that flooding risks persist as rains continue.
“The flooding from this is more or less delayed, so we haven’t seen the total effect of this yet,“ he said.
No major damage has been reported so far.
The DMI has long warned that climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall in Denmark.
This event underscores growing weather volatility in Scandinavia. – AFP
