Time to listen to the scientists on the climate crisis we are facing

ARECENT letter writer suggests we should not see the predicted 45cm global sea level rise predicted by 2080 due to the melting of the polar ice sheets caused by man-made global warming as a threat, and that the Thames Barrier is way taller than this and will protect London.

Hopefully most readers will see through the naivety of this argument and realise that a combination of this rise and a greater frequency and severity of extreme weather events we have been seeing is a real threat to many low lying areas in this country and worldwide.

The Thames Barrier is a protection against extremes of river level rise caused by a combination of storm surges/high tides/heavy rainfall and the predicted sea level rise by 2080 and greater severity of extreme weather will exacerbate these events. The Environment Agency, which is responsible for maintaining and operating the barrier and predicts this sea level rise based on the scientific input of climatologists, is very concerned that the Thames Barrier will not be sufficient to protect against this.

A breach of the barrier could cause huge damage and significant loss of life. The barrier protects over 48sq miles of London, including an estimated 1.25 million people, £200 billion worth of property and infrastructure, a large proportion of the London tube network and many historic buildings, power supplies, hospitals and schools.

Without the barrier the Houses of Parliament, the O2 arena, Tate Britain and Tate Modern, Tower Bridge and areas of Southwark, Beckton, West Ham, Whitechapel would all be flooded.

The letter writer also suggested we ignore the “green lobby” trying to instil “Project Fear” and look at the figures to “find the truth”. As a level-headed, well-educated (including in science) person I have looked at the figures and I am fully behind the Environment Agency on this and the worldwide scientific community on the wider issue – urgent worldwide action is needed to combat dangerous climate warming.

A good place to start your own investigation is the IPCC website. Julian Hill

Knowle