German fisherman Peter Schneider knows the floods come each year and says they are good for business -- but few other people see any benefit as experts warn of more high water to come.
"We fishermen have always lived with that. We're happy when the floods come, because it can only be good for the fish," he said in his village close to the Oder river that forms the border between Germany and Poland.Schneider's business almost went belly-up 10 years ago, when the river gushed through the dykes protecting a low-lying swath of land in this former East German region and immersed the building where he keeps his boats and nets.
The catastrophe forced thousands from their homes in Germany and elsewhere, and experts now say climate change may cause more disasters in Europe and across the world, with evidence increasing that global temperatures are rising.
"It would be wrong to deny the possible impact of climate change on flooding because if we (waited for more) statistical proof it may be too late," said Wolfgang Grabs at the World Meteorological Organisation of the United Nations.
Warmer air can hold more water and will unleash more energy when the weather turns bad, Grabs said, making storms heavier and boosting rainfall.
That mechanism may well explain an observed rise in flash floods in Europe over the last decade, he said.
Fisherman Schneider said flooded meadows offer breeding fish warmer water and more food, but most people would struggle to find benefit in flooding.
In recent weeks, parts of China have seen the heaviest rainfall since records began, killing more than 400.
Some 770 people have been killed by flooding in South Asia, with hundreds of thousands displaced by flash floods in southern Pakistan.
Thousands of flood victims in Britain last week were clearing chaos and braced for more after floods in northern parts of the country, triggering the country's biggest peacetime rescue effort.
European grain prices have risen to their highest level for around 10 years on fears that bad weather will hit this summer's crops, stoking food price inflation.
Initially, a spring drought caused damage to wheat crops across Europe and in key grower Ukraine.
Since June, heavy rain in western Europe has increased concerns over quality, which may leave bread-makers short of high-grade grain later this year.
