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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Agence France-Presse

What are medicanes? The ‘supercharged’ Mediterranean storms that could become more frequent

Mediterranean Libya Flood Storm Daniel University of Reading
Cars piled up atop wave breakers and the rubble of a building destroyed in flash floods after the Mediterranean storm, also known as a ‘medicane’, Daniel hit Libya's eastern city of Derna.
Cars piled up atop wave breakers and the rubble of a building destroyed in flash floods after the Mediterranean storm, also known as a ‘medicane’, Daniel hit Libya's eastern city of Derna. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya this week followed a “medicane”, a rare but destructive weather phenomenon that scientists believe will intensify in a warming world.

The term is an amalgamation of the words Mediterranean and hurricane. Used by scientists and weather forecasters, it is less well known to the wider public.

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