CASE STUDY: SEASONAL WATER
Flood-hit United Kingdom
Heavy rainfall is often linked to flooding, yet the mechanisms behind the magnitude and severity
Seasonal water extent has increased
of flood events are more complex and related to
significantly in the United Kingdom due to
infiltration capacity, increased run-off rates and
various drivers, such as precipitation pattern
evapotranspiration. The United Kingdom has
changes, temperature changes, increasing river
become more urbanized in the past decades,
flows and sea level rise. Six of the 10 wettest
with many recent flood events at least partly
years on record have occurred in the country
attributable to the increased run-off from these
since 1998, with the top 10 warmest years having
new impermeable built environments (Rubinato
occurred since 2002 (Kendon and others, 2020).
and others, 2019). However, other land-use changes are also responsible. Agricultural
In recent years, the United Kingdom has
practices, such as grazing, may contribute to soil
experienced a series of record temperatures,
degradation and increased overland flows, with
droughts, floods and heavy rain (Watts and
smaller-scale practices, such as deforestation,
Anderson, 2016). Although regional rainfall
reducing the water storage capacity of soil and
trends are not yet discernible due to the high
evapotranspiration rates (Weatherhead and
variability of rainfall throughout the country,
Howden, 2009). Climate change and increasing
recent studies are beginning to evidence how
water demand will continue to impact the scale
climate change may impact certain types of
and frequency of floods and droughts both
extreme events (Herring, 2015; McCarthy, 2020).
directly and indirectly in the United Kingdom, and
For example, climate change has very likely
as a result the country’s seasonal surface-water
increased the risk of extreme rainfall events and
extent. Heavy and intense rainfall events,
ensuing floods, as seen in northern England and
together with bigger storm surges due to sea
Scotland in December 2015, and more recently in
level rise, are expected to greatly intensify flood
Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire in June and
risks in the United Kingdom (Pidcock, 2014).
November 2019, respectively.
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PROGRESS ON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS - 2021
