Professor Maciej Zalewski told TVP World: “In the past [air flowed] from east to west and west to east, but now it’s becoming south to north, and very hot air from the Mediterranean Sea is coming and clashing with colder fronts. That’s why we have had such intensive rains.”

Regarding solutions for preventing future flooding, Zalewski emphasized the need for “holistic” thinking and for looking beyond measures such as simply building river valley reservoirs.

“We need to increase our absorption capacity [of rain].” This, he said, should come from reducing the amount of concrete in cities, changing the homogenized nature of the agricultural landscape and improving forest cover.

Zalewski, however, warned that a solution was “more complicated” than pointing the finger at governments for failing to embrace green strategies.

“In reality, [combating climate change] depends 50% on political will, and 50% on each of us… If we keep to business as normal, there is a danger we will create a hothouse and these events that we have observed now will become much more intensive.”