Deadly flooding hits several countries, scientists said this will be increasingly common

Schools in New Delhi had to close Monday after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital. Landslides and flash floods killed at least 15 people over the last three days. Further north, the overflowing Beas River swept vehicles downstream as it flooded neighborhoods.

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. 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, called the worst weather event in that county’s history when it hit in 2011.

Although destructive flooding in India, Japan, China and 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 reality right now. The additional warming that scientists predict is coming will only make it worse.

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.