Climate warning raises long-term flood fears in the UK

The Guardian : UK scientists have urged the government to consider the full impact of global warming when drawing up plans to protect Britain from flooding. A study from the Met Office’s Hadley Centre predicts that river levels will rise higher than anticipated because existing computer models do not take into account the effects of climate change on plant life.In a warmer world, say scientists, less water will be drawn up by plants, causing greater flows into rivers like the Thames and the Severn, which burst their banks last month bringing chaos to large parts of England.The study results, published yesterday in the journal Nature , show that, if carbon dioxide emissions go unchecked, climate change and its effect on plants will have increased river flow by 13% in Europe over the course of 300 years."Current impact assessments will need to be reworked,” said Richard Betts, the climate scientist who led the research.