Comments on Storm Ciarán

“Storm Ciarán hits the south coast of England with near record-breaking low pressure shortly after Storm Babet delivered the third wettest three-day period in England and Wales since records began in 1891. And it’s barely the beginning of November.

“All this follows the joint hottest September ever in the UK, in a year that will almost certainly be the hottest humans have ever experienced. As records tumble, the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events is a stark reminder that the impacts of climate change are not a future probability, but a present threat affecting us in all parts of the world. Climate action to tackle this is not only about reducing emissions but also about enhancing our capacity to weather the storms, figuratively and literally.

“It is all too apparent that we are not yet prepared for the impacts of climate change. This is why building resilience and community-led adaptability must be at the forefront of our response. Slowing progress to net zero now will only mean more extreme weather and greater threats like this in the future.”

Gareth Redmond-King, Head of International Programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: “Just weeks from the next UN climate summit, extreme weather won’t let our political leaders forget what is at stake. It’s not just summer heatwaves that climate change delivers; a warmer climate means more moisture in the air, and therefore rainfall; greater energy in the atmosphere and warmth in oceans injects more force into storms as they head in to landfall.

“At 1.2°C of warming, the fingerprints of climate change are increasingly detectable on many forms of extreme weather; and the return of El Niño is only adding more heat. Leaders heading to COP28 in Dubai at the end of this month will want to remember the warnings of their climate scientists - that we’re running out of time to keep heating to 1.5°C and avert even worse. But in a globalised world where the UK imports half of the food we eat, we will also need to ensure countries beyond our borders can adapt if we are to secure our food supplies, and protect people’s homes, livelihoods and lives.”