18th March 2024
What are the risks of climate change?
Here in the UK the risks include:-
- Extremes of temperatures. Excess deaths during the heatwave of 2022, exceeded 4500 persons. Deaths due to heat will rise as peak temperatures rise. There is also the risk that the higher temperatures will enable disease-carrying insects to migrate north leading to outbreaks of dengue fever and Zika virus. Cold temperatures also cause deaths many of which could be prevented if homes were better insulated.
- Flooding. Extreme weather events such as strong winds and storms, together with heavier rainfall (warmer air absorbs more moisture) flooding is an increasing occurrence, damaging homes, infrastructure such as roads and railways, buildings such as schools and hospitals, etc. Storms and strong winds also damage power cables and cause power outages.
- Extremes of temperature and flooding adversely affect agricultural output and the increased risk of food shortages. The UK imports about 60% of its food, so our food supplies are also dependent on the impact of climate change on food producing countries in other parts of the world.
- Rising sea levels due to melting icecaps is already threatening coastal communities as well as increasing the risk of flooding around and upstream of estuaries.
- Droughts are an increasing feature of climate change with hotter drier summers. For a nation that is used to having a constant supply of water for drinking, washing, cleaning cars, filling swimming pool, watering lawns and irrigating agricultural crops, using less water is a challenge.
- Any disruption of normal life due to heat waves, flooding, storms etc affects business output, disrupts education, delays hospital treatments, interrupts deliveries to supermarkets etc.
These are some of the risks and impacts of the climate crisis that we are experiencing in the UK. In other more vulnerable parts of the world, the impacts are even greater.
For more reading – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/22/heat-related-deaths-2022-hit-highest-level-record-england?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
The Green Tau 