London at risk of flooding in spite of Thames Barrier

As the Thames Barrier reaches its 25th birthday, the Met Office has warned that the barrier is insufficient to prevent London from flooding.

The barrier - built in response to London flooding in 1953 - was built to protect the capital from North Sea tidal surges, as well as to hold back high tides when the river is swollen due to heavy rainfall.

The Met Office is currently providing the Environment Agency with advice on the impact of climate change in the South East, and has warned that London is vulnerable to surface water flooding, which was the cause of the majority of the UK floods during the summer of 2007.

The Met Office is one of the first organisations in the world to develop a ten year climate forecast to highlight risks of drought, fires, and flooding. It is hoped that the ten year forecasts will offer more practical and relevant advice than the 50 and 100 year forecasts currently used worldwide.

Chief adviser to the Government at the Met Office, Phil Evans, told the Environment Agency that “we can expect more severe weather events in the future.”

He added that “in the coming years, Met Office decadal forecasts could help planners, emergency responders and local authorities better prepare for the impacts of climate change.”