Adaptation of cities is a significant challenge for planners and engineers, particularly in cities with ageing infrastructure, rapid growth and/or vulnerable coastal locations. Significant progress has been made over the last decade in understanding how climate change information can be translated into regulations, guidance and good practice to inform the implementation of adaptation plans. At the same time climate modelling has developed, including greater use of probabilistic data, such as the UK Climate Change Projections 2009, higher resolution downscaling (~1 to 4km resolution regional models) and more integrated modelling, including impacts assessment. This presentation will summarise new developments in climate modelling and examples of flood, water resources and heatwave impacts and adaptation studies in London and Birmingham. It will summarise lessons learned and implications for adaptation planning in other parts of the world, including challenges of working in cities with less information available that in the case of the UK.
Steven works at the Met Office, which is a global centre of excellence in weather and climate science, and the United Kingdom’s national weather service. He is an experienced climate risk and adaptation expert, working in partnership with government departments and the private sector in the water, marine and energy sectors. He was the technical lead for the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2012. Recent and ongoing research in Asia includes studies on the impacts of climate change on hydropower and the development of ‘climate services’, including cross border early warning systems.
Presentation Title
Bridging the Gap: Translating Climate Model Outputs into Useful Information for Climate Adaptation in Cities
Abstract
Adaptation of cities is a significant challenge for planners and engineers, particularly in cities with ageing infrastructure, rapid growth and/or vulnerable coastal locations. Significant progress has been made over the last decade in understanding how climate change information can be translated into regulations, guidance and good practice to inform the implementation of adaptation plans. At the same time climate modelling has developed, including greater use of probabilistic data, such as the UK Climate Change Projections 2009, higher resolution downscaling (~1 to 4km resolution regional models) and more integrated modelling, including impacts assessment. This presentation will summarise new developments in climate modelling and examples of flood, water resources and heatwave impacts and adaptation studies in London and Birmingham. It will summarise lessons learned and implications for adaptation planning in other parts of the world, including challenges of working in cities with less information available that in the case of the UK.