Climate change
How climate change will affect South Tyneside
Climate change will affect South Tyneside due to:
Local weather changes
Local weather will keep changing, meaning the Borough will be likely to see:
- more severe and frequent flooding
- summer droughts and heatwaves
- more intense and frequent storms, especially in the winter
This will effect our:
- transport, with increasing road and rail disruption
- buildings, including schools, hospitals and businesses
- health and wellbeing
- animals and plants
- food quality and availability
For more information, see Met Office: Effects of climate change.
Global changes
Global changes will have a local impact.
It is likely that South Tyneside will be affected by:
- Food shortages
As a changing climate and overexploited land affect global food production, South Tyneside may see more empty supermarket shelves and fresh produce is likely to decrease in quality and nutritional value. - Mass immigration
An estimated 1 billion climate refugees will be forced northwards by 2050. - Further pandemics
Degraded natural environments increase the likelihood of new virus outbreaks around the world. - Financial problems and unemployment
The cost of inaction is greater than the cost of action, with poorer regions being the worst hit. - Loss of land to sea-level rise
See Climate Central: Land projected to be below 10-year flood level in 2050
The impact on South Tyneside will depend on how quickly and effectively we act.