Weather hazards & in the UK Flashcards
what are some weather hazards in the UK?
Thunderstorms, prolonged rainfall, drought and extreme heat, heavy snowfall and extreme cold, strong winds.
Give a City where a flood ocurred.
Somerset In South West England.
What were the causes of this flood?
350mm of rain fell in jan and feb
High tides and storm surges
Rivers had not been dredged in 20 years.
What were the social effects?
600 houses flooded, 16 farms evacuated, residents evacuated for several months.
What were the economic effects?
Estimated 10 million damage, 14000 ha of agricultural land under water.
What were the environmental effects?
Floodwater contaminated with sewage and pollutants. Huge amounts of debris needed clearing.
Immediate responses
locals used boats to go shopping
local community groups and volunteers gave invaluable support.
Long term responses.
20 million flood action plan set up by Somerset county council.
Rivers dredged
Vulnerable communities will have flood defences.
What are the evidences that our weather is getting worse?
More energy in the atmosphere could lead to intense storms.
The BACM may be affected bringing more floors to normally dry areas and heatwaves to more cooler areas.
Weather patterns have been stuck for long periods of time causing prolonged rainfall or high temperatures.
In 2011 the IPCC agreed that extreme weather would become more common as global warming heats the planet.
Name an extreme weather event in the UK?
Heatwave 16-19 July 2022
Uk experiences heatwave as hot air moved north from the near continent. This set a record with 40 degrees.
What were the impacts of this?
couldn’t travel on trains as the tracks were buckling and the cables were sagging.
homes were gutted
flights were suspended
lots of 999 calls - NHS stress
Fires broke out
