Wish Britain had better summers? You may want to take that thought back.
Thanks to a rise in temperature, the UK could be devastated by scorching heat, flooding and food shortage within 30 years.
According to a climate change doomsday scenario, summers in London will face temperatures of up to 48 degrees Centigrade with the rest of the country in the high 30s, and land will be ruined for farming as demand for water outstrips supply, the Mirror reports.
The findings, published in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017, are the work of 8 UK climate experts who predict temperatures well into the 40 Centigrade-plus bracket.
Unbearably hot summers – like that of 2003 when temperatures peaked at 38.5C – will become the norm by the 2040s.
Flooding already costs the UK £1 billion in damage each year, but in 35 years, the number of households at risk of flooding will more than double to 1.9 million, the Mirror reports.
But that’s not all. Farmland will be forced to shrink, the country’s fish supply could be affected, food prices will rocket as extreme weather destroys crops, and Brits could be at risk of catching the Zika virus. Lovely.
How do they know all this? Well, the team of experts conducting the study based their predictions on projected temperature rises.
One of the authors, Professor Richard Bardgett, of the University of Manchester, said the report is based on the ‘authoritative views of academics and reliable research,’ and added: “It’s a matter of real urgency and it will affect us all in the future.”
Dr Ruth Wood, from Manchester University, said:
Climate change poses major threats to both natural and managed systems of the UK and worldwide.
Not only does it pose significant risks to our natural capital, including terrestrial, marine, freshwater and coastal ecosystems, but also it threatens our ability to produce food, for example due to increased incidence of pests and diseases, and the erosion of our soils.
What a fun time to be alive.
