Climate change and extreme weather

by Sonny, Swindon Youth Voice

Climate change, as you may know, is a very real threat. Here's 3 ways how it could

affect Swindon, and how we could aim to protect ourselves from it.

HEAT

Conditions during the summer months can now be quite unpleasant, due to rising global temperatures. School fields sometimes have to be closed due to the lack of shade, and high humidity and UV can be very dangerous to health, preventing ventilation and causing sunstroke and heat exhaustion.

STORMS

Climate change is causing increased severe weather worldwide, and even Swindon

can now be affected. Severe windstorms have got more common, in fact, 3 of the strongest storms in modern history both happened in the past 30 years. Another

threat is thunderstorms, which, when severe, can bring things like floods, hail,

damaging lightning and even the chance of tornadoes.

FLOODS

Climate change can bring extratropical cyclones to the UK. These create windspeeds often in excess of 60 mph, and lots of rain can bring devastating flash floods. In Storm Bert in 2024, Chippenham, a nearby town, had to face extreme floods, which

closed many businesses and dealt extraordinary damage to the main streets. These sorts of events, if not handled correctly, can be extremely damaging for the infrastructure.

All of these events are equally dangerous to our infrastructure. However, we can

aim to protect ourselves from them. Not only can we aim to cut down on carbon

emissions to help stop climate change, but we can also do things like creating

more shady areas, building houses more resistant to storms and focusing more

on drains and water management.

Together, we can protect ourselves from climate change.