Challenges of a changing climate

As the world warms, the UK is likely to have hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters according to the UK Met Office. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy downpours are likely to become more frequent and more intense.

Changes expected in the future

The UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) predicts that, based on current global emissions reduction trends and expectations, the climate of Derbyshire will be affected in the following ways by the 2080s.

Temperature:

• the average annual temperature across the county will increase by around 3°C
• summer temperatures across the county will increase, with the temperature regularly reaching 37°C in the south of the county and 33°C at higher altitudes in the north
• the number of days each year when the temperature is below 0°C will decrease with ice and snow becoming increasingly rare events

Rainfall:

• average annual rainfall amounts will remain largely unchanged from current levels, however, there would be likely to be considerable change in when rainfall occurs
• summers will be much drier, particularly in the south and central parts of the county
• winters will become wetter, particularly in the north of the county
• there will be an increase in the numbers of days per year when there is very little or no rain, as well as days with very heavy rain

Making our services more resilient to climate change

We have taken part in the Government’s Adaptation Reporting Powers process, which includes a risk assessment of how climate change is likely to impact the services we deliverto local communities. This has included identifying actions we need to take and will be an important area of work over the next few years. We will continue to review this process as new information becomes available.

Supporting the resilience of local communities

The Met Office’s Local Authority Climate Service provides evidence about how climate change is likely to affect local areas. We are a member of the Derbyshire Resilience Forum, which provides coordination of emergency planning including for extreme weather events. We are also working closely with district and borough councils and the East Midlands Combined County Authority to develop a joint approach.

Prepare yourself

The Government’s “Prepare” website has information about what you can do in the event of droughts, flooding, heatwaves, storms or other extreme events.

Our severe weather planning has information about how you can sign up for “Adverse Weather Alerts”.