DAVID STEWART: ‘Climate change risks are not going away any time soon’
This week saw an extreme heat dome covering Europe, with authorities sending out health alerts in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Britain was no exception, with record highs for heat followed by heavy rain, particularly in the Highlands.
United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, posted on X: “The planet is getting hotter and more dangerous - no country is immune. We need more ambitious climate action now.”
If climate change deniers needed more proof positive, the events in Europe this week made a superb case for the defence. Record highs for temperature and a series of severe wild fires swept over Europe – as well as closer to home in Dava and Carrbridge.
Regional governments in north-western Liguria and southern Sicily put restrictions on construction and farming during peak hours. In Germany, where forecasts hit the dizzy heights of 39 degrees Centigrade (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in old money), local authorities limited the amount of water that could be taken from rivers and lakes.
The World Health Organization issued a statement from their European Office this week, highlighting the risks that climate change and extreme heat can place upon the elderly, children, anyone with chronic health conditions and those who work outdoors.
The Highlands and Islands face particular challenges with climate change, not least with flooding. I remember in my Westminster days being asked to visit an estate in the east of Inverness that had suffered severe flooding. A local family showed me round their flood-damaged house, where the tidemark of the flood water reached chest height. The unfortunate family - and many of their neighbours - were traumatised by the event. I worked closely with the Highland Council and the housing developer and eventually a new flood prevention scheme was brought in, which protected the estate from further flooding.
Environmental scientists and organisations like the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) will point out that flooding is a natural and historic feature of Highland weather systems, but that the level and severity of flooding is accelerating. SEPA do an excellent job with their Floodline Service, which provides the public with free flood warning messages. They also offer a long-term flood risk checking service, using your postcode to assess potential risk to your property.
I do have real concerns about large-scale house-building on flood plains. There is, of course, real pressure across the Highlands and Islands for affordable, family housing, but it is crucial that developers and the local planning committees ensure that new housing projects either avoid flood plains or put substantial mitigation in place to prevent future flooding of properties - otherwise it will be a repeat of the extreme flooding in Inverness which I mentioned above.
Surface water, or pluvial flooding, can happen in urban areas of the Highlands, like Inverness, Dingwall and Nairn. This occurs when rainwater cannot drain away fast enough. From my own experience in dealing with constituents, this often happens after severe flash flooding, particularly in areas with poorly maintained culverts or drainage systems.
Although there are local circumstances which can affect flood risk, the big picture view is the role of climate change, which contributes to increased rainfall in winter, in conjunction with more frequent extreme weather events. Although the Highlands are not a flood hot spot, compared to the central belt or regions of England, such as Somerset or Yorkshire, we do face significant localised flood risk. Climate change risks are not going away any time soon - check your flooding risk at home and make preparations if necessary!
