Environmental Change
‘Climate change is expected to lead to ‘hotter, drier summers’ and ‘warmer, wetter winters’. Rainfall is expected to increase in the winter and to rain harder when it does rain in the summer, leading to worse and more frequent flooding. Sea levels are set to rise as polar ice caps melt, increasing flood risk to coastal areas. (Defra 2005).’
A major imperative of present day flood-risk management measures is to work with natural processes and avoid use of ‘unnecessary’ flood defences. This can provide greater adaptability for future uncertainty.