Bath Summers Set to be 5 Degrees Hotter with 30% Less Rainfall Unless We Act

18 June 2019

Climate scientist Dr Jo House has predicted hotter, drier summers for the Bath by 2100 at a Bath Briefing organised by MP Wera Hobhouse.

Using Met Office predictions based on IPCC data, Dr House said: Current international agreements mean that we are on course for an average 3 degrees of warming, which means that Bath summers will be 5 degrees hotter with 30% less rainfall. Winters would be milder, but considerably wetter.

This was one of the stark messages delivered by Dr Jo House, from Bristol University, in Bath on 13th June. As a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr House was the featured speaker at Wera Hobhouse MP’s latest Bath Briefing on Climate Change. A recognised international authority in her field, Dr House gave the packed house a highly accessible overview of how the climate emergency has developed, and what we can do to tackle it, both collectively and as individuals.

Dr House said, “Young climate activist Greta Thunberg has taught us scientists how to communicate. We need more education and communication. With the recent UK government legislation to reach net zero carbon by 2050, I am more hopeful than I was a year ago.”

Wera Hobhouse MP, who hosted the event, said: “Climate Change is an existential threat to human existence. Over recent years the pace of change has been increasing as the world warms and our weather patterns change.

“Here in Bath, campaigners such as Extinction Rebellion and the Youth Climate Alliance, as well as a raft of green groups, are taking on the fight. Even the Council has declared a Climate Emergency and has pledged to be net carbon zero by 2030. The challenges we face are daunting. Together must start to tackle them step by step. We must now push for the changes needed to restrict warming to 1.5 degrees.

“To explore these issues further, and to see what we can do as citizens, as business owners and as a city, I am organising a conference on the 13th July. Climate Crisis: Bath will look at how we can empower ourselves to act.”

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