Progress in adapting to climate change

Sobre immediate concerns from Climate Change Committee report:

• Over half of England’s top quality agricultural land is at risk of flooding today, with a further increase in total agriculture land at risk expected by 2050. Climate change also poses a major threat to UK biodiversity, at a time when it is degrading rapidly.
• 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, and surface water. This is predicted to rise to around 8 million (one in four) by 2050. Steadily rising sea levels at the UK’s coasts will increase the risk of coastal flooding and exacerbate coastal erosion.
• Over a third of railway and road kilometres are currently at flood risk, predicted to rise to around half by 2050. Extreme heat also disrupts infrastructure systems via rail buckling and power line sagging.
• Heat-related deaths already occur in the thousands each year but could rise several times over to exceed 10,000 in an average year by 2050. This increase is driven by the effect of climate change on a growing aging population, which is increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat.
• Estimates suggest that unchecked climate change could impact UK economic output by up to 7% of GDP by 2050, creating challenges for driving sustainable long-term growth across the country.

https://www.theccc.org.uk/2025/04/30/the-country-is-not-prepared-for-climate-impacts-say-advisors/