Deluge and Drought: We can't win the war against water
Not only will we have to prepare for storms, flood waters, rising sea levels, but droughts and water shortages too.
Just as the first proof copy of our new book, The Climate Change Garden, lands on the doormat, I received a press release that the Environment Agency has launched a major long-term strategy to tackle flooding and coastal change. The Environment Agency is preparing for a potential 4°C rise in global temperature and urgent action is needed to tackle more frequent, intense flooding and sea level rise.
The number of people who could be affected by flooding in the UK is staggering – who knew that more than 5 million people in England alone are at risk from flooding and coastal erosion. Yet only a third of people who live in areas at risk of flooding believe their property is at risk. Two-thirds of properties in England are served by infrastructure in areas at risk of flooding and for every person who suffers flooding, around 16 more are affected by loss of services such as power, transport and telecommunications. That’s a significant proportion of the population. We really need to be more …
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