According to climatologists, extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace around the world and are to blame for the floods that tore through cities in northeastern Italy this week.

That includes protracted droughts interspersed with heavy downpours the dried-out ground is unable to absorb.

In Emilia-Romagna, a region that has been severely affected, rivers burst their banks, covering cities in sludge.

At least 13 people have died, and there was billions of euros worth of damage. Italy is hardly the only country to suddenly experience a deluge.

A record-breaking mega-drought in California and the Western United States was sloshed out by at least a dozen atmospheric rivers, which drenched the state with so much rain that a long-dormant lake revived.