
Britain unprepared for worsening impact of climate change, advisers say
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Britain is unprepared for the worsening impacts of climate change such as flooding and extreme heat, the country's independent climate advisers said on Wednesday.
Britain was battered by widespread flooding last year which caused travel disruption and damage to homes, and in recent years it has suffered heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.
"We have seen in the last couple of years that the country is not prepared for the impacts of climate change. We know there is worse to come, and we are not ready – indeed in many areas we are not even planning to be ready," Julia King, Chair of the Climate Change Committee's (CCC) Adaptation Committee said.
In January, scientists said 2024 was globally the hottest year on record with climate change pushing the planet's temperature to levels never before experienced by modern humans and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe.
The CCC's adaptation committee reviews the country's progress to adapting to climate change every two years and makes a report to parliament.
Its latest report published on Wednesday said rising sea levels caused by climate change could increase the number of homes at risk of flooding to 8 million by 2050, from the current 6.3 million.
Heat related deaths could exceed 10,000 a year by 2050 up from around 3,000 in 2022, when the country saw record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.
The report also said over half of England's top quality agricultural land was already at risk of flooding and that this proportion would increase over time.
The committee recommended setting better targets for adaptation and improving co-ordination across government to consider climate impacts on areas such as infrastructure and the state-funded health system.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
U.S. Open underway as Oakmont awaits tournament favourite Scheffler
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania, June 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Open began under partly cloudy skies on Thursday at challenging Oakmont Country Club where Bryson DeChambeau hopes to make a fast start to his title defence while tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler was hours from teeing off. Amateur Matt Vogt, a former Oakmont caddie and current full-time dentist who qualified for the U.S. Open last week, had the honour of hitting the tournament's opening tee shot from the par-four first hole. Two-times U.S. Open winner DeChambeau, who went close at the year's first two majors, will set out at Oakmont in the company of British Open champion Xander Schauffele and Spain's Jose Luis Ballester at 7:29 a.m. ET (1129 GMT). World number one Scheffler, who counts the PGA Championship among his three wins in his last four starts, will head out in the company of two-times major winner Collin Morikawa and world number 14 Viktor Hovland at 1:25 p.m. ET. Oakmont, a quintessential U.S. Open venue where punishing ankle-high rough frames narrow fairways that lead to slick greens, is expected to be a brutal test of skill, mental toughness and resilience this week. Rory McIlroy, who has struggled off the tee since completing the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors with his Masters win in April, is scheduled to start from the 10th tee at 7:40 a.m. ET in the company of Shane Lowry and Justin Rose. Notable players going out in the afternoon when temperatures at Oakmont are expected to reach 87 degrees Fahrenheit (30.6 degrees Celsius) are Dustin Johnson, who won the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.


Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Andreescu and Alexandrova off to winning start as rain stops play in 's-Hertogenbosch
June 10 (Reuters) - Bianca Andreescu and second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova both kicked off their grasscourt campaigns with solid first-round wins at the Libema Open in Den Bosch, as rain caused significant delays throughout Tuesday's second day of play. Andreescu eased past Taiwan's Joanna Garland 6-1 6-3 as the 24-year-old Canadian put on a strong performance without facing a single break point and secured victory in 74 minutes. The former U.S. Open champion, who missed out on qualifying for Roland Garros, will next face New Zealand's Lulu Sun. Alexandrova advanced to the second round with a composed 6-3 6-4 win over Georgia's Mariam Bolkvadze, despite a lengthy rain delay disrupting the first set. The Russian returned from the interruption unfazed, taking control from the baseline and racing to a 5-2 lead in the second set. After being broken while serving for the match and facing another break point in her next service game, Alexandrova regained her composure to close out the win and set up an all-Russian second-round showdown with Anna Blinkova. The match between defending champion Liudmila Samsonova and Canada's qualifier Carson Branstine was tied at one set apiece before the game was suspended due to darkness. Branstine had stunned top seed Samsonova by taking the first set 6-4 before the Russian levelled the match by winning the second 7-5. Play will resume on Wednesday. In the men's draw, American Reilly Opelka also overcame several rain delays to see off local favourite Jesper de Jong with a hard-fought 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-2 victory. Several matches had to be postponed to Wednesday due to rain, including Polish fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut, Briton Daniel Evans against Australia's Rinky Hijikata, and Greece's Maria Sakkari taking on Dutch wildcard Anouk Koevermans.


Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
Crop Watch: Corn improves again but soybeans still iffy: Braun
NAPERVILLE, Illinois, June 9 (Reuters) - Health conditions across the U.S. Crop Watch corn and soybean fields began this season at multi-year lows. Recent weather has lent a bump to the corn ratings, though soybean scores remain just so-so overall. However, one of the Illinois Crop Watch soybean fields might qualify as the ugliest the producer has ever seen, placing extra emphasis on the near-term weather outlook. The week ahead could feature an opportunity for improvement to both corn and soybeans, though the temperature outlook may present some limitations. Temperatures across the U.S. Corn Belt last week were mostly below-average and all locations except the Dakotas received at least 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) of rain. The 11-field, average Crop Watch corn condition rose to 3.8 from 3.68 in the prior week. That is above the same week a year ago but below the comparable weeks in the previous three years. However, the 0.23-point increase over the last two weeks is well above a normal two-week delta for Crop Watch corn ratings. Improvement in the latest week was driven by Kansas and the Dakotas. The 11 Crop Watch producers assign weekly condition scores to their corn and soybean fields using a scale of 1 to 5. The ratings are similar to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's system where 1 is very poor, 3 is average and 5 is excellent. Only eight soybean fields were available for conditions last week, averaging 3.56. This week's average of the same eight fields drops to 3.5 on a reduction in southeastern Illinois, which is one of the nation's top soybean-producing regions. That field received over 3 inches of rain last week, piling on to the ample totals from previous weeks. The field conditions stand at 1.5 and the producer describes the situation as follows: 'Cannot stress enough how wet it is, the ground looks slimed.' Excess moisture is also plaguing crops in Ohio. The Crop Watch beans there were planted last Wednesday, though the field has taken 6 inches of rain since, and the plants have not yet emerged. This week, the 10-field average soybean condition score, sans Ohio, stands at 3.4. Aside from troubles in southeastern Illinois and Ohio, Crop Watch beans are looking super-strong in Indiana and western Iowa, and solid in both Kansas and eastern Iowa. Nearly all the Crop Watch producers expressed a desire for some drier conditions in the days ahead, though the forecast as of Monday was mixed on those prospects. They also noted the need for some warmth and sunshine, which is in the forecast for most areas for at least a couple of days this week. Crop Watch producers assessed that the week-ahead weather outlook was more positive than negative. But for some areas, particularly in the northwest Corn Belt, upcoming temperatures may still be a bit too cool. Producers will be watching for how the ongoing Canadian wildfire smoke might impact crop growth, as the particles can block much-needed solar radiation and potentially lead to cooler-than-expected temperatures. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), opens new tab, your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI, opens new tab can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X., opens new tab