Home / Environment / UK Must Adapt to 2°C Warming by 2050, Warn Climate Experts
UK Must Adapt to 2°C Warming by 2050, Warn Climate Experts
14 Oct
Summary
- UK not prepared for 40°C heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and flooding
- New homes and infrastructure must be built to withstand 4°C warming by 2100
- Adaptation efforts need same urgency as emissions reduction, says committee
According to the UK's independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), the country is not adequately prepared for the worsening weather extremes that are expected with at least 2°C of global warming by 2050. The committee has urged the government to set stronger targets and objectives for protecting health, homes, food security, infrastructure, and public services in the face of these inevitable climate impacts.
The CCC warns that the UK is already experiencing the effects of 1.4°C of warming, with record-breaking heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and flooding. These extremes are only expected to worsen, with the chances of a heatwave occurring each year doubling and the time spent under drought conditions across England also set to double.
To address this, the committee says new homes, electricity networks, and other infrastructure expected to last for decades must be built to withstand temperatures up to 4°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. The trees planted now for carbon storage and cooling must also be able to survive future temperature rises.
Baroness Brown, chairwoman of the CCC's adaptation committee, emphasized that adaptation efforts must be treated with the same urgency as cutting emissions. "Both are absolutely essential and must go hand in hand," she said. The committee plans to release a major report next May outlining further details on how the UK can prepare for the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
