Climate change: what's in store where you live?
North East:
One of the highest tidal surges for four decades hit Hull in January 2005. Water levels rose to about 90cm above normal levels – about the same height that flooded the city centre in 1969. But the city was saved from certain flooding by the tidal barrier, which protected around 1,800 properties and prevented roughly £250million worth of damage.
Climate change means extreme weather events will wreak havoc in the North East of England even more frequently than they have in recent years, according to the Environment Agency. Evidence also suggests sea levels are changing.
Across the whole of the North East and Yorkshire, more than 18,000 people live in areas at risk of flooding – and even more people will be affected in the future. At least £7million a year is currently spent protecting people and property from flooding in the region – a figure that will have to rise dramatically if defences are to keep pace.
A major study of climate change in the North East suggested that by 2080 average temperatures will have risen by between 1.5 and 4°C. Summer rainfall is expected to drop by between 15 and 50%, sea levels are expected to have risen by up to 66cm, and the growing season will get longer by up to 100 days. Combined, these changes will affect the severity of flood impacts, agricultural practice, water availability, wildlife habitats and air quality.
Flooding is already an issue in the region, with flash flooding becoming more common as a result of increasingly intense rainfall. In July 2001, during a thunderstorm at Hexham in Northumberland, a monitoring station that had been in place for 30 years was washed away.
Beaches such as Alnmouth, in Northumberland, are eroding rapidly. Predictions suggest homes and businesses on the coastline may be damaged, cliff and beach erosion could increase, and the costs of maintaining sea defences will spiral.
Important habitats will also be damaged, including the relic alpine heath habitats in upper Teesdale. Flat Sedge, Varigated Horsetail, Wood Cranesbill, Bog Rosemary, Cloudbury and the Large Heath Butterfly are all expected to become less common in the region.
Coastal habitats won’t escape the environmental onslaught, either: reed beds and sand dunes are all set to suffer. New species are expected to migrate into the region as the climate shifts, changing the shape of the region’s entire ecosystem. Fish populations are particularly vulnerable.
Find out what's in store elsewhere in the UK:
