Climate change

Working in partnership to make Herefordshire resilient to a changing climate

The warming climate will affect us all. The local impacts for Herefordshire include more intense and frequent extreme weather events such as flooding, heatwaves and storms. Even if all emissions stopped today, we have to adapt to the one degree warming that's already happened and the changes this will bring.

Holmer Primary School, Hereford in the floods February 2020.

We have worked with Sustainability West Midlands and partners to produce:

• Severe weather impact assessment for Herefordshire 2008-2022 - assesses the impacts of severe weather on organisations based in or operating throughout Herefordshire.
• Climate change technical report for Herefordshire - analyses how the climate may change in Herefordshire in the next 70+ years, up to 2100.
• Climate change adaptation plan 2023-28

The Climate change adaptation plan includes a Climate Change Risk Assessment, summarising the risks and opportunities that climate change presents in Herefordshire.

It also outlines how Herefordshire can prepare for climate change, and provides a series of recommendations for consideration by decision makers in Herefordshire, to ensure that the county's natural environment, people, infrastructure, buildings and businesses are prepared for the impacts of climate change.

We are delighted to be supported on the action plan delivery by a new established Climate Change Adaptation Working Group.

Comprised of members of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, Wye Valley NHS Trust, Wye Valley National Landscapes, Welsh Water and the Environment Agency the group will, amongst others:

• Act as a body to drive forward action on adaptation in the county
• Implement, or influence the implementation of, some of the actions cited in the adaptation plan
• Influence and support the development of local policy to provide the mechanisms for adaptation at the local level

Watch our webinar for a summary of what we've done so far, and next steps.

For more information on making your own preparations for possible flooding, please see our flooding pages.