Britain must urgently prepare for hotter temperatures, climate advisers warn

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By Susanna Twidale

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain must urgently prepare for global warming of at least 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2050, its climate advisers said on Wednesday, warning the country is ill-prepared for extreme weather that is already occurring.

Britain this year experienced its warmest summer since records began, which impacted health, agriculture and infrastructure with droughts declared in several regions.

“It is clear we are not yet adapted for the changes in weather and climate that we are living with today, let alone those that are expected over coming decades,” the Climate Change Committee wrote in a letter to the government in response to a request for advice from an environment minister.

The CCC outlined six critical areas: public health, food security, infrastructure resilience, protection of cities and towns from extreme weather disruption, maintenance of public services and climate-resilient economic growth.

Most governments promised under the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to prevent the average global temperature rise from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

But scientists have been surprised by how quickly changes are unfolding, with average global temperatures already having warmed by 1.3-1.4 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, according to data from U.N. and EU science agencies.

“We continue to believe that (limiting the rise to) 1.5 degrees is achievable as a long-term goal, but clearly the risk that it will not be achieved is getting higher,” Julia King, chair of the CCC’s Adaptation Committee told a press briefing. 

The group cautioned that global warming of 4 degrees Celsius by century’s end cannot be ruled out and said this should be factored into plans for building homes and infrastructure in order for them to withstand the next 75 to 100 years.

(Reporting by Susanna TwidaleEditing by Ros Russell)