How could climate change affect the district?
Recent reports state that as the climate continues to warm, global mean sea levels will increase and extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall and heatwaves, will become more frequent. Seasonal assessments of temperature and precipitation throughout 2022 for the UK show that each season was between 0.5 and 1.1 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average, and the autumn (September and October) was the only season which experienced more than average rainfall. The summer of 2022 (June to August) experienced 38% less rainfall than the 1991 to 2020 seasonal average (external link), and the hottest day on record in the UK was recorded at 40.3 °C in July 2022 (external link).
These changes to climate conditions could have impacts across the District such as:
- More frequent flooding:
- Across the District, some areas are a high risk and others at medium risk of surface water flooding. High risk areas have a more than 3.3% chance of flooding each year, and the medium risk areas have a 1% to .3% chance of experiencing this type of flooding each year. Learn more about this area's flood risk.
- Across the District, some areas are a high risk and others at medium risk of surface water flooding. High risk areas have a more than 3.3% chance of flooding each year, and the medium risk areas have a 1% to .3% chance of experiencing this type of flooding each year. Learn more about this area's flood risk.
- Overheating in summer:
- As with other parts of the UK, our buildings are designed to keep the heat in, and are therefore not well suited to providing cooling during periods of extreme heat. The lack of resilient building features such as solar shading, air conditioning, and cool spaces in summer months, increase the risk of overheating within buildings, which could have severe consequences for human health.
Last Updated on Tuesday, March 12, 2024