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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042113/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This is a scientific report on the effects of climate change on the United Kingdom. It provides observations on how the climate has already changed in the U.K., projections in relation to observed trends, and probable impacts, vital information for comprehensive climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The first section of this report outlines climate trends in the U.K. between 1960 and the present, including information on temperature and precipitation extremes, and major storms since 2000. Data analysis finds that from 1960 to 2010 there is evidence of consistent warming in the UK, with a trend of 0.23ºC per decade for winter, and 0.28ºC per decade for summer, along with decreasing numbers of cool nights and days and rising numbers of warm nights and days. Even more problematic are recent extreme temperature events, including the heat wave of summer 2003, where temperatures reached 38.5ºC and remained above 32ºC for consecutive days during August, and the extreme cold of 2010, when the UK experienced the coldest December in over 100 years and second coldest in nearly 350 years as temperatures dropped between -10 and -20ºC regularly. The section on extreme precipitation focuses particularly on the summer of 2007, when the country experienced the most rainfall since 1766 and the worst flooding in 60 years. While there is a trend of increased rainfall in the U.K., this is not strong. In fact there is a spike in the number of dry days in 2007, the year of this extreme flooding. The second section outlines climate change projections for the country. The U.K. is expected to experience rises in temperature of up to 3ºC in the south and 2.5ºC in the north, precipitation increases up to 10% in most of the country and decreases of up to 5% in the south by 2100, based on current trends. The final section discusses the impacts climate change projections for crop yields, food security, water stress and drought, flooding, and coastal communities. It is believed that climate projections for 2100 will lead to crop yield increases for the northern regions of the United Kingdom and decreases in the south, as heat stress and crop diseases play a greater role in farming throughout the region. The U.K. is also expected to become more vulnerable to water stress, also in the south. Despite these changes, it is believed that the U.K. will remain food secure due to its ability to import food. The report also concludes that flooding is expected to increase both as a result of increases in rainfall during winters and sea level rise impacting coastal communities. ( English,English )
- Subject:
- Climate Change
- Citation/Reference:
- (2011). Climate: observations, projections, and impacts. United Kingdom Met Office, UK Government Department of Energy and Climate Change.
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