Scientists say that climate change was likely to have made the the rains that unleashed catastrophic flooding across Bangladesh worse.
While South Asia's monsoon rains follow natural atmospheric patterns, the rains will become more erratic and torrential as global temperatures continue to climb, scientists say.
"The strong monsoon winds in the Bay of Bengal can carry a lot more moisture," said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. "The large amount of rainfall that we see now might be a climate change impact." But the monsoon patterns have shifted in recent decades, as the average temperature for Bangladesh has risen at least 0.5 degrees Celsius since 1976.
On Tuesday, Bangladeshi troops were navigating dinghys through brackish floodwaters to rescue those in need or deliver food and water to some of the 9.5 million people marooned. Officials say at least 69 people have died in the disaster.