Keep Calm And Paddle On

The UK is experiencing its “most exceptional period of rainfall in 248 years”, causing widespread flooding in southwest England and the Thames Valley:

After his most recent tour of the destruction caused by the relentless rains in Somerset, Prime Minister David Cameron referred to the flooded devastation as “biblical.” While experts warn that the insurance industry could be facing a bill of £500m from the winter flooding, farmers and environmental groups have been raising concerns about the consequences that the flooding will have on the nation’s food security.

Cameron is catching heat:

Scientists are blasting the government for failing to heed warnings that climate change and poorly controlled development in low-lying areas was heightening the risk of catastrophic floods. Richard Ashley of Sheffield University, author of a 2004 government-commissioned report on flood risks, says the government’s “obsession with deregulation” and budget-cutting had exacerbated the problem. In an interview with the Independent newspaper, he blamed “short-term politicians who don’t take notice of the science.”

Indeed, the science looks sobering. Ashley’s 2004 report predicted that winter rainfall in Britain could increase by as much as 15 percent by 2050 because of climate change. After extreme flooding in 2007, the government commissioned an update based on newer, more advanced climate-change modeling. The new study predicted that winter precipitation could rise by as much as 25 percent by 2050.

(Photo: Residents use a boat make their way through floodwater that has cut off their homes in Chertsey, United Kingdom on February 11, 2014. The Environment Agency contiues to issue severe flood warnings for a number of areas on the river Thames in the commuter belt west of London. With heavier rains forecast for the coming week people are preparing for for the water levels to rise. By Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)