The facts and you
The UK Climate Impacts Programme's (UKCIP) climate change scenarios indicate that we can expect the following over the next 100 years:
- Average annual temperature in the UK may rise by up to 3.5 ºC, with average summer temperatures increasing by up to 5.0 ºC.
- The number of very hot summer days is expected to increase and the number of very cold winter days is expected to decrease, snow fall is also expected to decrease.
- The area most likely to experience greater warming is the south of England.
- In the south-east of the UK we could see over 50% less rainfall in summer months and 30% more rainfall in winter.
- Sea levels could rise by as much as 80cm around the UK coast. This will generally be greater in the south in comparison to Scotland because of natural land movement.
Research from UKCIP projects suggests that the impacts of climate change could include increases in the following:
- Health problems - sunburn, heatstroke and dehydration
- Pests and disease
- Subsidence
- Flood risk
- Loss of coastal habitats
For further information please visit the UKCIP website.
The climate change that we expect in the next 30-40 years will be a result of past greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the climate change we can anticipate later this century will be determined by today's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
