FOUR DEGREES OF PREPARATION
Greater Manchester plans for adaptation
Trends & projections
Adaptation responses
Scenarios & futures
Ten minute read
Climate change recent trends and future projections
Developing a better understanding of recent and possible future changes in the climate is an important element of developing adaptation responses, which should ideally be targeted at locally relevant climate impacts and risks. The information provided in this section is of value to a wide range of different stakeholder groups wishing to learn more about weather and climate in Greater Manchester and the North West region, and prepare for the future changes.
EcoCities research shows that there have been small observable changes in climate trends across the conurbation over recent decades. These changes are broadly in line with the direction of projections for Greater Manchester's climate during the 21st century.
In terms of the future climate, the reports in this section provide data for a range of different climate variables, time periods, emissions scenarios and probability levels for the North West region, and for Greater Manchester, where three distinct climate zones have been identified.
The projections point towards wetter winters, drier summers and a warming across all the seasons. There is some uncertainty over the extent of future climate change. We cannot predict whether emissions will continue to rise or how the biosphere will react to the rapidly changing climate, for example. Nevertheless, there is broad agreement that the climate is set to shift significantly, and that adaptation responses are needed.
Data on recent trends in Greater Manchester's climate can be viewed in the spatial portal. Useful additional resources on climate trends and projections are also signposted.
Terms used in our research
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Spatial Mapping
Spatial portal
Toolkit to assess vulnerability of urban areas to climate change, using spatial data.
This is issue three of the EcoCities Blueprint magazine. It led with the article: 'What's going on up there? Climate projections for Greater Manchester.'
Climate change projections for Greater Manchester
This document summarises the climate projections information for Greater Manchester in tables, graphs, maps and descriptions. Specifically, it focuses on information...
The future climate of North West England
This report presents data for the future climate of North West England produced by the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) and provided through the UK Climate Impacts...
Recent changes and trends in Greater Manchester's climate
Ecocities: The Bruntwood Initiative for Sustainable Cities at The University of Manchester
©2011 The University of Manchester
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