One in four properties may be at risk of flooding by 2050 – report

However, the EA says that climate change could raise the number of properties at risk of surface flooding to around 6.1 million by the middle of the century.

It is well-documented that a warming world generally increases the intensity of heavy rainfall.

Between October 2023 and March 2024, for example, the amount of rainfall on the stormiest days in the UK increased by an estimated 20% on average due to climate change.

The report also highlights a rising risk of flooding from rivers and the sea – from 2.4 million properties today to around 3.1 million by mid-century.

The East Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber, and south-east England are particularly at risk.

This type of flooding – from rivers bursting their banks or storm surges bringing seawater onto shore – can be particularly damaging as it often brings deeper floodwaters.

Wetter winters increase the chances of river flooding, while sea-level rise makes coastal flooding more likely.

Global sea levels are rising mainly due to a combination of melting glaciers and ice sheets, and the fact that warmer water takes up more space. They are expected to continue rising for centuries to come.

Average sea levels around the UK have already risen by nearly 20cm since 1900, with most of that occurring since 1990.

This also has knock-on effects for coastal erosion – the displacement of land along coastlines due to the action of waves.

The UK already has some of the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe.

But climate change could increase the number of properties at risk of effectively being lost into the sea to nearly 20,000 by 2100, even if adequate shoreline management plans are put in place, the EA says.

That would be up from 3,500 between now and mid-century.