The report also assesses the vulnerability of society, human health and ecosystems in Europe and identifies those regions in Europe most at risk from climate change. Furthermore, the report discusses the principle sources of uncertainty for the indicators and notes how monitoring and scenario development can improve our understanding of climate change, its impacts and related vulnerabilities.
Urban flooding may be of particular interest to us here in Scotland. From the map you can see that the number of heavy rain days are on the increase, particularly in West Scotland.
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| Map borrowed from EEA: Urban flooding — impervious surfaces reduce the drainage of rain water and increase the risk for urban flooding (http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/urban-flooding-2014-impervious-surfaces) |
Key messages from the executive summary include:
- Climate change (increases in temperature, changes in precipitation and decreases in ice and snow) is occurring globally and in Europe; some of the observed changes have established records in recent years.
- Observed climate change has already led to a wide range of impacts on environmental systems and society; further climate change impacts are projected for the future.
- Climate change can increase existing vulnerabilities and deepen socio-economic imbalances in Europe.
- Damage costs from natural disasters have increased; the contribution of climate change to these costs is projected to increase in the future.
- The combined impacts of projected climate change and socio-economic development can lead to high damage costs; these costs can be reduced significantly by mitigation and adaptation actions.
- The causes of the most costly climate impacts are projected to differ strongly across Europe.
- On-going and planned monitoring and research at national and EU level can improve assessments of past and projected impacts of climate change, thereby enhancing the knowledge base for adaptation.
You can access the report here.
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