Climate change will make UK new holiday destination The opening of the Arctic shipping route due to ice melt will make it easier and cheaper to transport goods and some species of fish, like plaice and sole, should become more abundant around the UK. Hotter summers and warmer year-round temperatures may make the UK a more attractive for foreign and domestic holiday makers. In particular, the UK could be well placed to attract visitors deterred by the uncomfortably high temperatures in southern Europe projected to result from climate change," read the report. The Climate Risk Assessment Report sets out the 100 greatest risks for the UK over the next century due to rising temperatures predicted by the Met Office. Flooding, that currently causes £1.3 billion worth of damage every year, is expected to become a massive problem, costing £12 billion per year not including surface flooding. The impact will also be felt on health with the number of people killed by floods increasing from 18 today to up to 52 by the 2050s and the number of people affected mentally rising from up to 7,000 to 11,500. At the same time a lack of water will also be a problem. In the South East and Anglia, where there is already currently a drought, most people will be considered to be living under "water stress" meaning water meters will have to be introduced and there may be restrictions imposed. Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, pointed out that the floods in 2007 cost £3 billion in England alone. She warned that failure to prepare for further disasters will cost even more unless preparations are made now. "This world class research provides the most comprehensive case yet on why we need to take action to adapt the UK and our economy to the impacts of climate change," she said."It shows what life would be like if we stopped our preparations now, and the consequences such a decision would mean for our economic stability." Sir Bob Watson, Defra's chief scientist admitted it was a "mixed bag" for the UK. Although tens of thousands of people in Britain may be saved by more warm winters there will still be cold snaps. He also pointed out that other problems will emerge because of the effect of climate change on other parts of the world. For example food prices are expected to go up because of droughts in the main agricultural areas, water shortages could cause more conflict and millions of people will become "climate change refugees." "If we have a warmer world we should then in principle have the adverse effects of heat stress mortality but at the same time it should be off set by less people dying by winter," he said.