Act like your house is submerged

Of all the images from last week's floods, it was the photo of Hereford's Eign Road that hit me most.

It's a road I know well. The lower part between the Brewer's Arms pub and Hampton Park Road floods very occasionally but this is the second time in less than 12 months that it's happened.

It's worrying because we know that if Eign Road is being flooded more often then there are hundreds of other places around the county that are now suffering where they haven't done previously.

England has experienced a major flood almost every year since 2007, leaving about 100,000 properties damaged. And we know that one of the major threats of climate change is flooding.

Dr Michael Byrne is a lecturer in climate science at the University of St Andrews has warned that future storms will bring more rain due to climate change.

“Storms are nothing new. But, because we are now more than 1C warmer as a whole versus pre-industrial times, every degree means 7 per cent more water in the atmosphere and more rain in these heavy rain events,

“When they come, they bring more rain, 100 per cent for certain, because of climate change,” he said.

If temperatures rise by 3C – an increase that the world is currently on track for – storms could bring about 20 per cent more rain than they would have done without climate change.

The effect this will have on our towns and villages will be devastating. Areas like Eign Road that have only flooded occasionally will see flood damage on a regular basis. All caused by climate change.

We cannot let this rise in global temperatures happen.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has urged us to halt the rise in global temperatures. 'Act like our house is on fire.'

In Herefordshire, it's a case of acting like your house is submerged in floodwater. A feeling that will become increasingly familiar if we continue to do nothing.