A new report has described how global Warming and climate change may be disastrous for a large swathe of Britain’s communities if estimates become realities. A study from the Brighton and Hove City Council suggests that over 60,000 Britons will be at an increased risk of flooding in future decades and that such communities would struggle to cope with the impacts of flooding when such an event takes place. The government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that up to 11,000 of properties in Brighton could be affected by flooding at some point in the future, including around 1000 in Saltdean and Rottingdean and around 8,500 in nearby Hove. The most vulnerable locations in the Brighton/Hove urban area include Lewes Road and London Road, which are identified as high risk flood areas. Experts have also suggested that it would be difficult for crews to rescue people in need on these roads due their geographical location. Buildings along these roads generally date from the Victorian era, many of which contain basements that would quickly become swamped with floodwater in the event of a flood. As many of these properties are well over 100 years old, the drainage systems of these buildings need to be replaced before a ‘one in thirty year’ flood event takes place, the council has said.

While most of us are thinking about our next club med ski holiday, climate change in Britain has already led to milder winters and warmer summers, despite the poorer summers of recent years and last year’s cold winter. The Met Office currently expects summer temperatures to rise by as much as 6.4 degrees Celsius by 2080 – which would make British summer temperatures more akin to those of southwest France today, although many dispute this prediction, branding it as a major overestimation. The government has even suggested that a siesta break should be introduced during the summer months. However, this would be highly unlikely due to the fact that Britain’s geographical position means that hot, dry summers are highly unlikely to become a ‘feature’ of the country’s maritime climate.