Climate Change

Is climate change real?

Our climate is changing.

We are seeing:

more extreme weather conditions
warmer, drier summers
milder, wetter winters
more hot days
changing rainfall patterns - more intense storms
less days of frost
higher sea temperatures
sea level rise

Bad weather on Douglas Promenade

We have convincing evidence that these changes are more than a natural cycle.

What do the scientists say?

There is now widespread agreement among the world's leading scientists that our climate is changing due to man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. The evidence on climate change is now overwhelming. These changes will have far-reaching impacts on societies, economies and the natural environment.

For further information see the United Kingdom Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) www.ukcip.org the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change website www.ippc.ch/

What changes are we seeing now?

Climate change in the UK can be measured in records extending back over 350 years. The 1990s was the warmest decade in central England since records began in the 1660s and this warming of climate over land has been accompanied by warming of UK coastal waters. Impacts so far include:

The growing season for plants in central England has lengthened by about one month since 1900
Heat waves have become more frequent in summer, while there are now fewer frosts and winter cold spells
Winters over the last 200 years have become much wetter relative to summers throughout the UK
A larger proportion of winter precipitation (rain and snow) now falls on heavy rainfall days than was the case 50 years ago
After adjusting for natural land movements, the average sea level around the UK is now about 10cm higher than it was in 1900

Should we concentrate on emissions control? Why is adaptation important?

It is essential that we control our emissions to limit future damage. However, even if stringent cuts in emissions were made immediately, our climate would continue to change for many decades to come, due to the accumulated emissions already in the atmosphere.

We have to deal with these changes; some may be life threatening, others will affect quality of life. It is imperative that we learn to live with a changing climate and make sure that our existing social and economic structures can adapt and grow.

Spring High Tide in Douglas

The future is uncertain. How can we take action when we cannot be sure what the future will hold?

Where there is uncertainty about the nature and extent of climate risks we can account for this by ensuring that the decisions we take build in a degree of resilience. This can be achieved using risk assessment and management techniques. Uncertainty is not a reason for inaction.

What's happening in the Isle of Man?

A study commissioned by the Department of Local Government and the Environment to identify and prioritise the impacts has now been completed by consultants, Acclimatise. The report on this essential work, which will help us plan for the future, can be found in full in the documents table, below. As the report comprises of 12 very technical and detailed reports, an Executive Summary highlighing the key areas has been prepared, which is both useful in its own right but can also be used to indicate where you can find more detailed data in the main reports. The Executive Summary is also included in the documents table.

The study compliments the Scoping Studies for the UK, which is part of the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) www.ukcip.org. UKCIP helps organisations assess how they may be affected by climate change, so they can prepare for the impacts, and they acted as the advisors to the Climate Change Working Group set up by the Department to manage the study. In addition to acting as advisors on the Scoping Study, UKCIP also assisted by supplying tools specifically developed for Scoping Studies. The two used in this study were the "Risk Uncertainty and Decision Making Framework" and "Costing the Impacts of Climate Change".

Downloadable Documents