City faces more heatwaves, floods and droughts
BRISTOL is facing more heatwaves, floods and droughts as the climate continues to heat up, according to a new action plan.
Bristol City Council’s new climate emergency action plan details what work will be done to cut carbon emissions and make the city more resilient.
Melting roads, buckling railways, heavy floods in winter and long droughts in summer could cause havoc to Bristol, unless urgent action is taken across the world to cut carbon emissions, according to the action plan.
But a lot of work is already taking place within Bristol.
As well as work to reduce how much greenhouse gases the city emits, much of the focus is now on making Bristol more resilient to the worse effects of climate change. This includes building new flood defences, and helping vulnerable people most at risk from killer heatwaves.
Councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member for climate, said: “The climate emergency and the required speed and extent of action means we all need to play our part and coordinate with others. This action plan describes what Bristol City Council is doing to lead the way to a carbon neutral Bristol and adapt to the impacts of climate change. We want to inspire others by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions within our control. We also want to help the city make progress in areas of work where we are the lead body, or can convene and engage with people to make action happen.”
The action plan explores what could happen in several scenarios, depending on whether global emissions reduce or continue to increase as they are currently. A recent report from the United Nations said the world is on track for 2.8 degrees warming, far higher than the 1.5 degree target, which will have catastrophic consequences for people all over the world.
The action plan said: “By 2080 when today’s schoolchildren will be retiring, summer rainfall could have reduced by up to 62% while winter rainfall may have increased by up to 51%. Bristol’s coastline could have seen a rise in sea level of 72 centimetres and maximum summer temperatures could have become 8.9 degrees hotter.”
Many parks and lawns in Bristol this summer turned from green to brown as grass struggled with the extreme heat and lack of rain. Weather stations recorded the hottest ever temperatures in the city in July and many people sought refuge in wild swimming spots like Conham River Park, despite a council byelaw making swimming in the Avon illegal.