Climate and the Environment

The evidence for impact in Northern Ireland has most recently been presented in the 2007 report 'Preparing for Climate Change in Northern Ireland', published by DOE and SNIFFER (Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research).

The assessments in the report were based on the current set of UK climate change scenarios, published under the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP02). This provides a common starting point for assessing climate change vulnerability, impacts and adaptation activities across the UK. The next generation of scenarios (UKCP09) is due for release later in 2009. Fuller details of the UKCIP programmes can be accessed at their website.

These maps, prepared by UKCIP, show the projected changes in annual average temperatures according to different levels of emission of greenhouse gases – low and high emission scenarios

Climate models predict that Northern Ireland will see warmer wetter winters, with drier summers. The frequency of extreme weather events such as flooding may increase as rainfall patterns change. The timing of natural events may alter in response to a changing climate. The balance of species in our environment may change.

The full SNIFFER report and an executive summary can be accessed at the SNIFFER website.