We haven’t quite had the nicest weather here in the UK so far and many are taking the opportunity to look to other countries: why not try a trip to temperate Cyprus, reaching a scorching 45°C, or perhaps the blistering heat of Italy, predicted by the European Space Agency to reach highs of around 48°C, or maybe a trip to Rhodes, Corfu or central Greece, where extreme heat and dry surroundings have led to near-uncontrollable wildfires.
Well, good news! This weather is coming soon to a town near you! Last summer, areas across both Devon and Cornwall reached highs of more than 30°C, with Bude sitting highest in Cornwall at a blistering 34.2°C according to the BBC. Perfect! That’s the sort of weather you’d go abroad to encounter after all. According to the BBC’s meteorological department, with our planet set to rise by 4°C in the next few decades (bearing in mind the last time the Earth was this warm on average was five to 10 million years ago), temperatures in Cornwall will regularly reach around 37°C, with the UK experiencing 40°C years at the end of the century.
But what does this actually mean for us? Other than some sunny weather and a few wildfires, what impact does it have on us here in Cornwall? Well, with global warming comes rising sea levels and catastrophic effects on polar ice caps. Sea levels will rise by a predicted average of 30cm by 2050, with a potential for even higher. This may not seem like much in isolation but it means towns such as Par, Falmouth, Perranporth, Looe and several others will have enough flooding that many coastal communities will require total evacuation, with tens to hundreds of thousands of homes across the South West potentially requiring relocation in an already volatile housing market.
This is why I am so shocked to hear this week about Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party’s new plans to issue hundreds of contracts for gas and oil drilling in the North Sea. In spite of the looming climate disaster, it seems to me that the current government is doing all it can to exacerbate the situation. In gas drilling, natural gas, typically methane, leaks into the environment polluting the air but also contributing to global warming. Methane is 34 times stronger at trapping heat than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period and 86 times stronger over 20 years.
The excuse cited is that it is required in order for Britain to rely on its own energy. The Labour Party, however, has a plan for the future of the energy in this country, whilst also meeting global emission targets, and achieving a secure, clean and renewable source of energy. Labour will set up a nationalised energy company – Great British Energy – saving British households £93 billion in energy bills and achieving net zero as fast as possible. So vote Labour for a fairer, greener future.