soak

When the rain starts to fall, it comes down with increased intensity on soils that are not best able to soak up high levels of water.

If heavy rain follows, water cannot soak into the ground and instead runs off, causing flash flooding.

Trees are vital for life, helping to clean the air and soak up carbon emissions, as well as providing homes for thousands of birds, insects and mammals.

But the WMO's scientists also says they have seen some evidence that as the world gets warmer, trees are not able to soak up the same level of CO2 as they once were.

So if the forests and the oceans become less able to soak up CO2, global warming could accelerate more rapidly.