Over a third of road kilometres currently at flood risk, says Climate Change Committee

The Climate Change Committee says there is now “unequivocal evidence” that climate change is making extreme weather in the UK more likely and more extreme.

Across the UK, this looks like heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and wildfire-conducive conditions. It’s warning that the UK is not appropriately prepared for this and says, notably, there has been no change in addressing this risk with the change in Government.

Among the CCC’s findings in a comprehensive new report published today are that over a third of railway and road kilometres are currently at flood risk, predicted to rise to around half by 2050. Extreme heat also disrupts infrastructure systems via rail buckling and power line sagging.

Also, minutes of delay on the strategic road network due to weather-related incidents have decreased since 2023 but are highly variable year-on-year. However, the share of roads susceptible to flooding has gone up, due to flooding events in 2022/23 exceeding road design capacity.

National Highways met its target for the condition of pavements in the strategic road network, which provides a partial picture of vulnerability to weather extremes, says the Committee. Roads with poor pavements are more difficult to navigate in extreme weather, and roads in poor condition are likely to be more at risk of damage during extreme weather events.

The condition of local roadss has not changed in the last two years, but there have been modest improvements in the condition of some types of roads (B and C roads and unclassified roads) in the past 10 years