France, Jan. 29 -- Torrential rains and floods have killed more than 100 people in South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Eswatini since December, and displaced hundreds of thousands of others.

Some areas received "over a year's rain in just days", saidWorld Weather Attribution(WWA), an international team of scientists studying the link between climate change and extreme weather.

Theintensity of such extreme rainfall events has increased by 40 percent since pre-industrial times, according to the group -a sign that warmer ocean temperatures linked to greenhouse gas emissions are partly to blame.

"Data confirms a clear move toward more violent downpours," WWA said.

The La Niña weather phenomenon also worsened things."This e...