Britain unprepared for worsening impact of climate change, advisers say

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain is unprepared for the worsening impacts of climate change such as flooding and extreme heat, the country’s independent climate advisers said on Wednesday.

Britain was battered by widespread flooding last year which caused travel disruption and damage to homes, and in recent years it has suffered heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

"We have seen in the last couple of years that the country is not prepared for the impacts of climate change. We know there is worse to come, and we are not ready – indeed in many areas we are not even planning to be ready," Julia King, Chair of the Climate Change Committee's (CCC) Adaptation Committee said.

In January, scientists said 2024 was globally the hottest year on record with climate change pushing the planet's temperature to levels never before experienced by modern humans and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe.

The CCC’s adaptation committee reviews the country's progress to adapting to climate change every two years and makes a report to parliament.

Its latest report published on Wednesday said rising sea levels caused by climate change could increase the number of homes at risk of flooding to 8 million by 2050, from the current 6.3 million.

Heat related deaths could exceed 10,000 a year by 2050 up from around 3,000 in 2022, when the country saw record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.

The report also said over half of England’s top quality agricultural land was already at risk of flooding and that this proportion would increase over time.

The committee recommended setting better targets for adaptation and improving co-ordination across government to consider climate impacts on areas such as infrastructure and the state-funded health system.

(Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by William James)