Environment Agency warns UK can still suffer from floods during drought
The EA is warning of the dangers of extreme weather events and urging people not to be complacent following this summer’s dry weather.
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An Environment Agency (EA) boss has warned the UK could suffer from flooding this winter despite areas being in drought, saying “climate change is happening now”.
Caroline Douglass, the EA’s executive director for flood and coastal risk management, delivered the warning on Monday during a briefing on the weather outlook for the winter months and preparations to respond to possible flooding.
She said it will take a “lot more rainfall than we currently are receiving” for the UK to be out of drought next year, saying “we could see some more impacts from flooding as a result of the drought” but this would depend on factors such as where rain falls and the volume.
Just because we are in drought doesn’t mean we won’t get floods
It comes as the EA launched its annual Flood Action Week on Monday, warning of the dangers of extreme weather events and urging people not to be complacent following this summer’s dry weather.
At the briefing, Will Lang, the Met Office’s head of situational awareness, said there is “slightly increased risk” of colder than average weather in the UK from November 2022 to January 2023 – but he stressed normal winter conditions are still the most likely.
Over this period, The Met Office says, the chances of dry conditions are greater than normal and there is a reduced chance of wet conditions and impacts from heavy rainfall.
Stormy conditions and impacts from high winds are less likely than normal, it says.
But Mr Lang added: “It would not be unusual if the wettest and stormiest part of the season with the greatest flood risk again came at that end of the season in February as it did last winter.”
Ms Douglass said: “The importance of Flood Action Week is we know we are going to get flooding, as we had it last winter.
“Over the weekend we had some surface water flooding. We know we are likely to get some flooding this winter and February’s not looking again great based on that weather forecast.
“But when you also see what’s happening around the world flooding is occurring much more frequently.
“Australia is being hit at the moment, we’ve had Pakistan, Bangladesh, Europe, North America hit by hurricanes, so this is all about being prepared and people knowing what they need to do, checking their flood risk and making sure they’re signed up for flood warnings and can act accordingly when there is an actual flood.”
She added: “We can still have flooding while we’re in drought.
“Just because we are in drought doesn’t mean we won’t get floods. When the soils are really dry, you get more runoff and can have more impacts as a result of the drought from a flood perspective.
“The climate is getting warmer and Cop27 this week is showing that we are going to have to cater for more impacts as a result of climate change which is here and now and we are experiencing that, as are many countries around the world.”
It comes as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning on Monday, with rain and strong winds expected across parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and south-west England.