ADAPT OR DIE

Another scary prediction by an international organisation has hit the news. Like a lot of such predictions it makes bleak reading, and yet the message is not one of prevention, but of adaptation. This is a sensible approach. We cannot predict the future, but we do know that sea levels are likely to carry on rising, as this has been going on for centuries at about 7 inches a century. We also know that in some places the land is sinking, for example in southern England it has been sinking at about 24 inches a century. Obviously these changes need to be factored in when planning for sea defences.