UK Climate Projections 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Global Warming
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today announced the launch of the UK Climate Projections 2009; a groundbreaking, Defra-funded tool that will help us to understand how the UK’s climate will change during the 21st century. The Met Office has used the latest climate science to develop the Projections, which show the probability of changes in temperature, rainfall, sea-level, humidity, cloud, and radiation.
Results are provided for three different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios - high, medium and low - and for seven time periods up to 2099. The information is freely available for everyone to use.
Hilary Benn said: “There is no doubt about it - climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world today. Climate change is already happening - the hottest ten years on record globally have all been since 1990. This landmark scientific evidence shows not only that we need to tackle the causes of climate change but also that we must deal with the consequences.
The Projections will allow us to make sure we have a resilient infrastructure to cope - whether it’s the design of school buildings or protection of new power plants, maintaining the supply of drinking water, adjusting ways of farming for drier summers or understanding how our homes and businesses will have to adapt”.
Ask Hilary Benn about the projections
Do you have a question about how climate change could affect the UK and how the country can adapt to possible sea level rises, the likelihood of hotter summers and the potential for more severe floods and storms?
Hilary Benn will be taking part in a Number 10 webchat on 22 June at 09:45 BST - discussing the possible impacts of climate change in the UK and the Government’s plans to adapt to the challenges it will cause.
New climate projections underline the need to prepare the UK for a warmer future and to take action now to limit the severity of change, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced today.
The UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) confirm that the UK is likely to see hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters coupled with more frequent extreme weather such as flooding, heatwaves and droughts.
UKCP09 is the latest cutting edge science developed by the Met Office Hadley Centre and is the first time that a probabilistic approach has been used for climate projections, allowing us to take a risk-based approach to planning for the future.
Met Office Chief Scientist, Julia Slingo, said: “Through UKCP09 the Met Office has provided the world’s most comprehensive regional climate projections with a unique assessment of the possible changes to our climate through the rest of this century. For the first time businesses and authorities have the tools to help them make risk-based decisions to adapt to the challenges of our changing climate.”
Dr Vicky Pope explains the science behind the UK Climate Projections. or download the transcript (PDF, 128 kB)
Read the full Defra News Release
Notes
- The Met Office Hadley Centre is the UK’s foremost centre for climate change research. Mainly funded by DECC (the Department of Energy and Climate Change), Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the Ministry of Defence, it provides information and advice to the UK Governments on climate change issues.
- The UK Climate Projections have been funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department of Energy and Climate Change with the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Department of the Environment.
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Comments RSS 2.0The intensive farming of animals, apart from being inherently cruel to those animals, is a massive cause of global warming. What will will the government do to reduce this?