By Sarah McDaid
A study from Heriot-Watt University shows that the UK’s flooding could increase by an average of 15-35 percent by 2080.
Millions of people are affected by flooding every year in the UK, and the annual cost of the damage comes to £1.1 billion.
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Dr Annie Visser-Quinn, a data scientist at Heriot-Watt, said: “We used multiple datasets and methods and compared the results, using the most up-to-date data available.
“The estimates paint a concerning picture for the future UK flood landscape, especially when combined with increasing urbanisation."
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The scientists are unable to say whether the scale of one in 30 year events will increase.
Visser-Quinn said: “We couldn’t get the different models to agree on those more unusual,extreme events, so there is still uncertainty there.
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“Robust modelling will help improve our flood preparedness, which is why this work is essential. New climate data coming out later this year should be investigated as quickly as possible to inform the UK’s flood protection policies.”
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