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The Bigger Picture

Planet earth in climate crisis? Copyright: Peter Werner, from stock.xchng.

With the Association of British Insurers calling for more public money to be spent on flood defences, otherwise insurers will not be able to guarantee future claims will be met in full, you can see the problem. Premiums for house, contents and car insurance are all expected to rise in light of increases in the number of claims in the wake of floods in recent years.

It looks like we're having to get used to living with water around us more often. This shouldn't be a shock, seeing as water covers more than 70% of the earth's surface area. We ought to be quite skilled at living with water. But it's the surprise events that catch us out. When this happens, water, its tidal power and ability to cause floods, inspires fear as well as impressing with its beauty. Climate change, whether seen in short-term 'events', or as part of a longer-term process, means that we are having to make more space for water.

Of course, it did not feel that way in the UK Summer of 2006, when high temperatures stretched unbroken from May to September - the longest unbroken period of hot weather since records began in 1659. The average temperature during that season was 16.2 degrees, two degrees above the national average. Summer 2006 also boasted the warmest month (July) in the UK ever.

Disputes rage over the cause of changes in the UK climate. The effects of the altered climate are, though, undeniable. Warmer summers and milder winters are affecting the breeding and migratory patterns of bird-life. Native species of flora and fauna face changes in habitat. While we may regard as benefits the additional breeding seasons and opportunities to grow an extra crop during autumn, extreme weather events seem to be on the increase, as well, leading to fears of more frequent droughts, floods and storms, whatever the season.

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