The UK has seen a record climate change in history, and the Independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) is urging the government to get prepared for coping with extreme, unprecedented weather conditions for at least 2°C of global warming by 2050, reports BBC.
Moreover, the CCC explained that the UK is not adapted to worsening extremes such as 40 °C heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and flooding that are already occurring at current levels of 1.4°C of warming.
In a letter sent to Government officials, the climate committee has urged ministers to set out stronger objectives and targets for protecting health, homes, food security, infrastructure, and key public services, in the face of a minimum of 2°C of warming by 2050.
The committee said that new homes, electricity networks, and other infrastructure, which are expected to last for decades, must be built with the potential to adapt to cope with temperatures of as much as 4°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.
CCC further informed that the trees planted now to store carbon and cool cities must also be able to withstand future temperature rises.
The advice urges the UK to plan for climate change that is worse than the long-term temperature goal of the international climate treaty, the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The idea for new infrastructure was proposed after the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that 2024 had seen a record rise of carbon dioxide CO2 in the atmosphere.
CO2 is the gas mainly responsible for human-caused climate change and is released when fossil fuels are burnt and during other activities.
The CCC's letter came after it had been asked to provide advice on a timeframe for setting adaptation scenarios, based on "minimum climate scenarios."
Furthermore, the Committee urged the government to establish a framework of clear long-term objectives to prevent further temperature rise, to set new targets every 5 years, and to state that the departments would be “clearly accountable for delivering those goals.”
Scientists have observed that a summer as hot or hotter than 2025 is now 70 times more likely than it would have been in a natural climate with no human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, reports Met.
According to WMO, the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere between 2023 and 2024 was the largest since temperature evaluation started in the late 1950s.
"The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather," said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett.
Barrett explained that reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for climate but also for economic security and community well-being.
Concentrations of other important greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, also rose to record levels, increasing by 16%- 25% respectively against pre-industrial levels, while CO2 rose by 52%.
WMO senior scientific officer Oksana Tarasova said that about 50% of carbon emissions are absorbed by forests, land, and oceans; however, the ability of these so-called carbon sinks to absorb the gases is lessening.
Previously, the committee released its report in April 2025, which explained that preparations in the UK for rising temperatures were either too slow, had stalled, or were heading in the wrong direction.
Experts also warned that sea levels will rise, and peak rainfall across the UK is expected to increase by up to 10-15% on the wettest days. Peak river flows will increase by up to 40% for some catchments, raising the risk of flooding.
Additionally, the CCC further informed that they would be able to provide a detailed trade-off report in 2026, outlining how the UK could adapt to new climate change challenges in the coming year, according to reports by the BBC.
