In Photos: Why heavy rain and floods will only become more common globally

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Schools in New Delhi were forced to close Monday after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital , with landslides and flash floods killing at least 15 people over the last three days. Farther north, the overflowing Beas River swept vehicles downstream as it flooded neighborhoods. Above: A general view shows a flooded low lying area near the Yamuna River after it overflowed due to monsoon rains in New Delhi. Image Credit: AFP

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In Japan, torrential rain pounded the southwest, causing floods and mudslides that left two people dead and at least six others missing Monday. Local TV showed damaged houses in Fukuoka prefecture and muddy water from the swollen Yamakuni River appearing to threaten a bridge in the town of Yabakei. Above: This handout video screen grab taken by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "River Disaster Prevention Information" and received via Jiji Press shows the swollen Yamakuni River in the city of Nakatsu. Image Credit: AFP

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In Ulster County, in New York's Hudson Valley and in Vermont , some said the flooding is the worst they’ve seen since Hurricane Irene's devastation in 2011. Above: Numerous motorists were stranded by flooding Sunday in Rockland County, the New York State Police said. Image Credit: MUST CREDIT: New York State Police photo

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Although destructive flooding in India, Japan, China , Turkey and the United States might seem like distant events, atmospheric scientists say they have this in common: Storms are forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality now. The additional warming that scientists predict is coming will only make it worse. Above: A partially submerged car is visible in floodwaters after heavy rains in Zonguldak, Turkey. Image Credit: Dia Images via AP)

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That's because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which results in storms dumping more precipitation that can have deadly outcomes. Pollutants, especially carbon dioxide and methane, are heating up the atmosphere. Instead of allowing heat to radiate away from Earth into space, they hold onto it. Above: A civilian wearing safety-harness is helped to cross Beas river during an evacuation drive by the members of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) following heavy rains at Nagwain village in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Image Credit: REUTERS

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While climate change is not the cause of storms unleashing the rainfall, these storms are forming in an atmosphere that is becoming warmer and wetter. For every 1 degree Celsius, which equals 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, the atmosphere warms, it holds approximately 7% more moisture. According to NASA, the average global temperature has increased by at least 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.9 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880. Above: Paramilitary policemen searching an area after it was flooded by heavy rains in China's southwestern Chongqing. Image Credit: AP

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Along Turkey’s mountainous and scenic Black Sea coast, heavy rains swelled rivers and damaged cities with flooding and landslides. At least 15 people were killed by flooding in another mountainous region, in southwestern China. Above: View of cars submerged in flood waters in Wanzhou district, Chongqing, China. Image Credit: Reuters

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Gavin Schmidt, climatologist and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said the regions being hit hardest by climate change are not the ones who emit the largest amount of planet-warming pollutants. “The bulk of the emissions have come from the industrial Western nations and the bulk of the impacts are happening in places that don’t have good infrastructure, that are less prepared for weather extremes and have no real ways to manage this,” said Schmidt. Above: People rush towards a bus during heavy rain in Kathmandu, Nepal. Image Credit: REUTERS

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