Flooding around the Thames London by 2030

[Ruizy]

does anyone have any knowledge on this subject? Is the government working in plans to prevent this? 2030 doesn’t seem very far away now and climate experts are predicting massive areas will be susceptible to flooding around the Thames.

I work for the Environment Agency, in flood risk asset management, online a thing or two about this.

Yes - susceptibility to flooding is increasing, particularly on tidal locations like London. This also means our policies and asset management strategy is focusing on managing this, where to invest in new defences most effectively etc. Economic, technical and operational sustainability are massive drivers.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads (Great username) do you think the changes being made will be enough?

About 25 years ago I did my MSc. thesis using changing groundwater level data under London. I remember thinking then that Wandsworth was a going to be a particularly bad place to live come the rising river levels we were being warned about 🙁

I saw a map a while ago which showed which parts of London would be lost to rising sea levels (ie the level of the tidal Thames rising beyond what can reasonably be contained). Not sure if it was for 2030, though. I'll see if I can find it.

And yes, I think the lower lying parts Thames side of Wandsworth were badly hit - right up to where the land rises for Lavender Hill and St John's hill.

But they were far from being the only borough badly affected

Thanks. I don’t live in London but it’s worrying that climate change impact like this is such a short time away

Article on non-London risk areas by 2050

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61795783

This is to 2100

So within the lifetime of DC being born around now

earth.org/data_visualization/sea-level-rise-by-the-end-of-the-century-london/

So, there are a lot of nuclear power stations in the at risk areas, that can't be good 😬

Metro article saying 2030, but appearing to use the same map.

metro.co.uk/2021/07/28/london-map-shows-areas-that-will-regularly-flood-by-2030-15000218/

I think this is more recent (2021) and I think might be giving a worst case scenario of when we might see a 10m rise in sea levels.

If we don't stop climate change, then yes at some point this will happen.

I saw on Twitter a clip of Margaret Thatcher speaking on the dangers of climate change, and how some was natural but the add-on from the consequences of human action was potentially catastrophic. And that action was needed straight away to cut carbon emissions and protect the rainforest.

That was in 1989

Just think how different things would be now if we had acted (rather than just listed) then

I live in Cardiff, which is the most at risk city in the UK. We were going to move anyway, but have deliberately chosen a house inland and on higher ground for this reason.

Yes squirmofeels I was around 10 when thatcher was in power and I remember being really worried about it then. I actually really wanted to do something and I sent a letter to the Houses of Parliament telling them my concerns. They sent me a letter back assuring me they were doing a lot and various booklets/leaflets telling me what they were doing. I knew then that it was just a fob off but what else could I do 🤷‍♀️

Also googling in this subject throws up articles about how london could run out of fresh drinking water in 25 years. So lots to look forward to

I’m in the Fens, it’s going to get wet again. The government has basically said there’s nothing they can do about it and there won’t be an intervention. I’m sure London will have a second Thames Barrier built to protect it, but they better get on with if they want something operational in the 2030s!

We are looking to relocate to a different area in the U.K. and I have kept this in mind since we started looking.

That Thatcher speech was in 1989, and she left office in 1990, so not a huge time to get much done (and it was at the time when the in-fighting that eventually forced her out had begun).

Major didn't seem to do as much, and then we had the days of spending like there's no tomorrow that characterised the 00s (I don't just mean the government - it was the time when we thought we were rich and got through massive amounts of fast fashion, cheap flights, ever changing home decor etc)

The warning signals were there, though, right back in the 1980s, but look what followed - not protection of the rainforests, but their fastest ever destruction to feed the desire for cheap (palm oil based) food and cosmetics in the developed world.

Climate change is the reason I would never buy a house near a river or on the coast. Not worth the risk - and things are going to get a lot worse

There are projections here of the land under flood level in 2030 and then for subsequent decades. Even in 2030 much of London, the fens and the south coast is flooded. coastal.climatecentral.org/map/8/0.0204/51.3127/?theme=sea_level_rise&map_type=year&basemap=roadmap&contiguous=true&elevation_model=best_available&forecast_year=2030&pathway=ssp3rcp70&percentile=p50&refresh=true&return_level=return_level_1&rl_model=gtsr&slr_model=ipcc_2021_med

I don't get why there isn't more discussion about this. I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy a house in these areas now or in the near future, surely there value will fall greatly.

It's being on the tube during a flood that freaks me out.

I don't get why there isn't more discussion about this. I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy a house in these areas now or in the near future, surely there value will fall greatly.

there is prime real estate in red on that link; I imagine it will be protected. Plus much of London is on clay so prone to subsidence.

I imagine it will be protected

How?

Holding back a rise in sea level is very difficult, though the Dutch manage it with polders - but they are in places with plenty of space for sturdy construction. Is that going to be even remotely possible for London?

Remember that episode of Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars"? Water will always find its way

How are these predictions different to previous ones where we are always about 10 years from catastrophe?

I work with a lot of people who live in fashionable and very expensive areas, Richmond, Chiswick, Kew, Teddington, Twickenham etc. Anything red on the maps above. As I'm no where near that loaded I had to buy out in "the sticks" on the Surrey/Hants border. However the first thing I check about a house is whether it's in a flood zone, (I'm not) plus its 100m above sea level. One of my colleagues is seriously considering getting out of Richmond sooner than later.

I also don't understand how these properties demand a premium when they could be worthless in 30 years.

"how london could run out of fresh drinking water in 25 years."

Where is this from? Seems like utter scaremongering.

London, water is supplied by Ashford, site, Thames Water.

Following. DH is an engineer specialising in water, so we too have always studied flood maps v carefully when choosing properties. It's a massive worry though. Governments and LG need to be really leading on climate change, and at the mo, I feel like there are lots of words, but very few actions.