The UK “is very much not adapted to climate change and not prepared”, according to a lead author of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Guardian reports that the study, approved by 195 countries, says the worldwide impacts of the climate crisis are more severe than predicted and there is only a narrow chance of securing “a liveable future for all”.

In the UK, more flooding from rivers, at the coasts, and from intense downpours in urban areas is one of the biggest impacts, the report says. Sewage works, airports and seaports are among the key infrastructure at risk, along with the impacts of storms on the electricity and communication networks.

While winters are getting wetter, summers are becoming drier, and water shortages are on track to increase in England and Wales, the report says, doubling in frequency within decades. Heatwaves are also a rising and deadly threat, with many homes and hospitals unprepared. One in three heat-related deaths in the UK between 1991 and 2018 were caused by global heating, according to a study cited in the report.

Separately, Lord John Krebs, who was chair of the Adaptation Committee between 2009 and 2017 and Baroness Julia Brown, the current chair,  has been the chair since 2017, have commented on why the UK is failing to prepare for the current and future extreme weather.