Study Says UK To Bear a Strong Burden in Future Warming Climate

In the UK, a study was commissioned recently to find out what, if any, repercussions Britain could expect in the future thanks to global warming. The results were unpleasant, to say the least.

A panel of independent analysts working on behalf of the government predicted a number of effects – most of them negative – that would fall on Britain as a result of a warming climate and changing ocean, says the Associated Press (News - Alert). They included:

• 5,900 deaths as a result of hotter summers (though a reduction in deaths caused by cold weather) by the 2050s.
• More frequent floods, which will affect business and infrastructure and cause the cost of damages to rise from 1.3 billion pounds ($2 billion) to as much as 12 billion pounds ($18.8 billion) by the 2080s if nothing is done to alleviate the problem.
• A prediction of water shortages by the 2050s, with between 27 million and 59 million Britons living in areas that will suffer from inadequate water supplies.
• An increase in beach erosion that will reshape coastlines.
• An increase in energy bills because of homes and businesses that must rely more on air conditioning.
• Increased rainfall, which will overtax sewage treatment plants and damage roads, railways and bridges.
• Effects on local fishing, including a reduction in cod, a staple in Britain's famed “fish and chips” dish.

There will be a few positive effects, says the report, including a reduction in damages and injuries caused by cold and open shipping routes even wider. The warmer weather would lengthen – and benefit – Britain's growing season, and it might make it a more attractive tourist destination given its warmer weather.

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