Climate change in Anglia

Climate Change in Anglia

The United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP), based at Oxford University, has studied the effects of climate change on Anglia, which has provided a more detailed picture for the region as a whole. UKCIP forecast that Anglia will experience the following changes to the climate:

• Mean annual temperatures are likely to rise by between 0.9 and 2.3oC by 2050 (compared to the period 1961-1990)
• Annual rainfall is forecast to increase by 1-2%, with winter rainfall increasing by 6-13%, and summer rainfall decreasing
• Sea levels are expected to rise by between 16 and 71cm above 1990 levels by 2050.
• Higher temperatures are expected to raise evaporation rates to 14-29% higher than today. This will reduce the amount of "hydrologically effective" rainfall in summer- causing drying soils, lower river flows, and more frequent droughts.
• An increase in Storm surges will also increase the risk of localised flooding.

UKCIP has also estimated that average flood damage caused by climate change in East Anglia could be up to £950 million per year by 2050. Flooding on this scale will also inevitably affect the economy, especially the agricultural sector. UKCIP suggests that although crop yields may increase due to increased temperatures, the amount of arable land will decrease. Furthermore, drier, hotter summers may produce drier soil, resulting in lower yields.

For information on what you can do to fight climate change in your own life, browse the rest of our site, or call us on 0800 512012.

Organisations and community groups within Anglia

• Cambridge Carbon Footprint
• CRed (Community Carbon Reduction Programme
• Sustainable Girton

External Information

• BBC weather centre
• UK Climate Impacts Programme
• Hadley Centre for climate prediction & research
• Tyndall Centre for climate change research
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• UEA Climatic Research Unit
• Oxford University Environmental Change Institute