Cold snap previews the coming challenges of climate change adaptation
It's tempting to say that the freezing temperatures and heavy snow we have had over the last few weeks has been a return to a 'proper winter' as opposed to the mild and muddy variety we have become more used to. In all the chaos of the wintry weather several news stories caught my attention because of their relevance to climate change.
The first was the one about London buses not being able to get out of the depots for the first time ever and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London attempting to explain why there were no snowploughs to clear the roads. Basically they sold them a few years ago as they had been gathering dust for decades and were seen as a needless financial drain. Because of the rarity of heavy snow in London, and the prediction of rising average temperatures there is no plan to buy any more in the light of this experience. A similar issue on a national scale that received intense media attention (and inspired any number of bad pun headlines) was the shortage of grit across the country. Many local authorities saw stocks run very low, and began to ration the supplies and only treat major routes. In both cases it seems fair to say that the problems occurred because we no longer expect such a prolonged spell of snow and icy weather during the winter!
That in itself has immediate and obvious significance as a sign of a changing climate, and the events of the past fortnight also give a hint of the dilemmas that will emerge as we begin adapting to climate change. As the variety and potential impact of possible extreme weather events gets bigger (think floods, drought, snow, heatwave, gales and storms) so the range of equipment and facilities needed to cope with all eventualities increases (water supplies, grit, snowploughs, sandbags, boats, shelters and tents, blankets and food, chainsaws for clearing fallen timber and people trained to use them, etc, etc, etc).
Because these events are chaotic, irregular and unpredictable it would be a huge logistical task, and very expensive, to be prepared for all eventualities (and no doubt criticised as a waste during periods of relative calm). On the other hand the consequences of being caught unprepared by an extreme weather event could be a large scale disaster with risk of losses of life and property.
Submitted by richardh on Fri, 13/02/2009 - 16:37.
The first was the one about London buses not being able to get out of the depots for the first time ever and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London attempting to explain why there were no snowploughs to clear the roads. Basically they sold them a few years ago as they had been gathering dust for decades and were seen as a needless financial drain. Because of the rarity of heavy snow in London, and the prediction of rising average temperatures there is no plan to buy any more in the light of this experience. A similar issue on a national scale that received intense media attention (and inspired any number of bad pun headlines) was the shortage of grit across the country. Many local authorities saw stocks run very low, and began to ration the supplies and only treat major routes. In both cases it seems fair to say that the problems occurred because we no longer expect such a prolonged spell of snow and icy weather during the winter!
That in itself has immediate and obvious significance as a sign of a changing climate, and the events of the past fortnight also give a hint of the dilemmas that will emerge as we begin adapting to climate change. As the variety and potential impact of possible extreme weather events gets bigger (think floods, drought, snow, heatwave, gales and storms) so the range of equipment and facilities needed to cope with all eventualities increases (water supplies, grit, snowploughs, sandbags, boats, shelters and tents, blankets and food, chainsaws for clearing fallen timber and people trained to use them, etc, etc, etc).
Because these events are chaotic, irregular and unpredictable it would be a huge logistical task, and very expensive, to be prepared for all eventualities (and no doubt criticised as a waste during periods of relative calm). On the other hand the consequences of being caught unprepared by an extreme weather event could be a large scale disaster with risk of losses of life and property.
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