UKCP18 will be an important source of information for UK organisations required to manage climate risks to their assets and operations.

Last month Defra announced that the existing UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) will have a major upgrade over the next two years, prior to public release in 2018. As well as drawing on recent observational data of climate change, the new projections (UKCP18) will reflect key developments in scientific understanding and climate modelling (including that used to support the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th assessment). Once released the projections will become an important source of information for UK organisations that have to manage climate risks to their assets and operations.

Although the largest component of the upgrade to UKCP09 in the UKCP18 will be on improving the existing land based projections, updated sea level projections will be provided. These updates will make use of new analyses of variations to sea level change signals as they pass from the open ocean onto the shelf sea around the UK. Improvements to the existing surge projections will also be included.

As was the case for previous UK Climate Projections, UKCP18 will be a multi-agency project with the Met Office playing a central role. ABPmer has been invited to join the UKCP18 Non-Government User group and will be involved with assessing the utility of the new projections for wider application as well as sharing experience of applying climate information in project work.

ABPmer also provides support to the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership through contributions to their annual Report Cards.

For more information about our work in climate change, email Tony Brooks or call +44 (0)23 8071 1840.