8 UK Landmarks Could Vanish Due To Climate Change — And One’s Right Here In Yorkshire

You may have noticed that winters have become much wetter and, summers – especially this last one – drier and hotter. Climate change is a worry for many people with the globe heating up, floods becoming more frequent, and the worrying reservoir levels reported this summer. All of this impacts us for home, transport links and even iconic cultural landmarks and centres. And, it seems that the next few decades are forecast to get much worse.

Aviva, the insurance company, has published a huge report identifying the parts of the UK most at risk from global warming. It’s not the first map depicting these frightening things. Climate Central has developed a map which showcases the dramatic effects of rising sea levels on the East Yorkshire coastline.

The Aviva report reveals areas most at risk of being abandoned due to flooding, and these included some famous landmarks, including Edinburgh Castle, Hampton Court Palace and Giant’s Causeway. Included in the eight historic landmarks was the city of York.

But that doesn’t mean you should start putting your house up for sale and heading for higher ground. Aviva highlights local councils and organisations are already doing excellent work to deal with the impacts of climate change and said, ‘by taking vital steps now, we can help safeguard millions of properties and protect important landmarks from climate impacts in the decades to come.’

It’s pretty common knowledge for anyone who has visited the city of York on a few occasions that the areas around the river tend to flood. Sitting at the junction between the River Ouse and the River Foss, the city is vulnerable to flooding. It’s had a £100 million flood defence programme was launched in response.

Time Out reports that Aviva said: ‘While the river poses the greatest threat, York also faces surface water risk. By 2050, there is projected to be arise in peak rainfall events of up to 15 percent, with higher temperatures also leaving the ground susceptible to flash floods.’ Much of the drainage across York has not been designed to cope with the 21st century’s more extreme weather conditions, but Aviva points out that local councils are ‘high active in adaptation’. You can check out the rest of the UK landmarks under threat below.

Jason Storah, CEO UK & Ireland General Insurance, Aviva, said: “In the UK we have seen the impacts of our changing climate and this year is no exception. Record temperatures, wildfires and flash flooding have affected lives across the globe and it is clear that action is needed to adapt to the increasing frequency of these events.

“Our Building Future Communities report lays bare the risks that homes and businesses could experience by 2050. The findings are stark. Millions more properties could be at risk from flooding, with rising temperatures, increased urbanisation and inadequate drainage exacerbating the risks in future.

“Well-known landmarks will not be immune to the threats. A changing climate is already impacting us and, in future, it is likely we will need to learn to live with extreme weather. Adapting our properties and infrastructure is key. To make the UK climate-ready, we are calling for urgent, collective action to be taken to ensure we can mitigate the risks we will all face.”