North of Wales to be hit hardest by flooding due to climate change says Met Office expert

The north of Wales is going to be hit hardest by flooding due to climate change, according to an expert at the Met Office.

Speaking at COP26, Professor Peter Stott of the Met Office Hadley Centre said that the rapid warming of the Arctic was causing the path of storms to shift further north.

That meant that the increase in flash flooding was likely to be greater in the north than the south, he said.

“North Wales, northwest England up into Scotland, it’s all of those regions that are going to have the greatest impact in terms of heavy rainfall events,” Professor Stott said.

“Climate change is no longer just an issue about the future. With the atmosphere having already warmed by around 1C, it can hold roughly 7 per cent more moisture than it would have in the pre-industrial period, leading to more extreme rainfall events.

“As well as the chances of more extreme rainfall in the future we’re seeing the influence of climate change on the weather we’re experiencing now.”

‘Devestation’

The latest modelling showed that the impact of extreme rainfall in the UK could be more frequent and severe than previously thought, the Met Office said.

The projections were made using new climate computer models and assessments by the UN’s intergovernmental panel on climate change.

They are based on 3C of warming by 2070, which is close to the UN’s prediction of 2.7C based on official emissions targets submitted by all countries.

Professor Lizzie Kendon, a Met Office climate scientist, said: “We’re seeing that extreme rainfall events are being made both more frequent and more intense as a consequence of human-induced climate change.

“Recent flooding events around the world show the devastation that intense rainfall can cause. By reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, the worst impacts can be avoided, but organisations and individuals need to be resilient to the changes in our weather that we’re already committed to.”