The recent flooding in Paris that saw the Seine River break its banks has brought out dozens of environmental apologists claiming it was caused by man-made global warming. Of course, they are insinuating that if we don’t cut back carbon emissions more of the same awaits us.

One man-made global warming article shrilly shouted in its headline: Climate Change Made the Flooding in France More Deadly.

Unfortunately, there is a bit of problem with the messaging.

This is not the first time Paris has flooded and this wasn’t even the worst flood.

French Artist Julien Knez caused a bit of a stir when he used a bunch of old photos of the Great Paris Flood of 1910 and then took pictures of the same spots during this year’s flood allowing us to compare the impact of the two deluges.

As the photos show, the 1910 flood was actually higher as the Seine River peaked at 8.62 meters above normal compared to only 6.1 meters above normal when it reached its maximum level on June 3 this year.

This of course leads to the awkward question. If those in the man-made global warming camp believe the 2016 flood was caused by SUVs and other carbon emitters, then what caused the flooding in 1910?

The answer is of course obvious. Natural forces beyond our control caused the 1910 flood?  Could those same natural forces have played a role in the 2016 flood?

You don’t even have to go back 106 years. The last time the Seine River hit the 2016 levels was 34 years ago in 1982. Other major flood years in Paris were 1924 and 1955.

In fact, of the four major Paris floods recorded since 1910, the 2016 flood was the lowest. You can compare the water levels of these four floods in the image below created by the BBC.

Extreme flooding has been happening in this part of France for hundreds of years. So why the sudden urge to blame it on man-made global warming?

Sources:

• You can view more photos comparing the 1910 flood with 2016 by clicking here.
• Climate Blamed for Worst Paris Floods since 1910: WUWT
• When it comes to blaming modern climate change for the recent flooding in Paris, this picture says a thousand words
• Paris floods were ‘directly’ tied to Global warming, study finds