This document summarizes a study that analyzed over 1,000 weather events and impacts reported in Welsh media from 2000-2012 to develop a National Climate Impacts Profile for Wales. The study found that flooding from excessive rainfall was the most commonly reported impact and affected infrastructure, communities, and buildings. While the study provides a preliminary assessment of climate impacts in Wales, media reporting is inconsistent and may not capture all long-term or environmental effects. The profile can help local authorities consider adaptation planning but may not show accurate spatial or temporal trends.

1. A Revised National Climate
Impacts Profile for Wales
Clive Walmsley,
Natural Resources Wales
Simon Hartley, AECOM
Lucy Corfield, Welsh Government
Climate Week 2014
1

2. Networks for monitoring
climate change

3. The diversity of climate impacts

4. The National Climate
Impacts Profile approach
• No comprehensive compilation of recent
extreme weather events and associated impacts
for Wales
• Local Climate Impacts Profile (LCLIP) developed
by UKCIP for use by Local Authorities
• AECOM used a modified LCLIP approach for
Wales
• Identified on-line media reports of weather
events and their impacts over last 13 years
(2000-2012)
• Provides a preliminary assessment of the
diversity and significance of weather-related
impacts in Wales

5. The National Climate
Impacts Profile approach
• Around 128 standard UKCIP defined climate-
related search terms and an additional c. 10
local search terms per Local Authority
• Highbeam and Factiva search engines used to
search 60 online Welsh media archives
including BBC, Western Mail, Wales on Sunday,
South Wales Echo & Evening Post, Daily Post
and local newspaper sites

6. The National Climate
Impacts Profile approach
• Database provides searchable access to:
- weather events and impacts by location and
date
- which organisation/body/people affected
- consequences that occurred
- organisations required to make response
- qualitative assessment of significance of
impact based on extent, severity and duration
- details of source of report
• 1098 separate reported weather impacts over
the 13 years

7. Type of weather event reported

8. Type of weather event reported

9. Spatial
distribution
of reported
weather
events
corrected by
population

10. Type of primary impact

11. Type of primary impact - SAPs
3%
13%
25%
26%
33%
Business & Tourism
Communities
Health
Infrastructure
Environment
Sector affected

12. Type of impact reported by
weather responsible for impact

13. Spatial
distribution
of ‘buildings’
impacted by
‘excessive
rainfall’ or
flooding’
weather
events

14. Proportion of users/sectors affected by
extreme weather impacts

15. Users/sectors affected by weather
responsible for impact

16. Sectors affected by weather
responsible for impact
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
All
Business&
Tourism
Com
m
unities
HealthInfrastructureEnvironm
ent
Wind
Storm
Other
Low Temp
High Temp
Frost / snow / ice
Excessive rainfall
Drought

17. Spatial
distribution of
‘building users’
impacted by
‘excessive
rainfall’ or
flooding’
weather events

18. Reported weather events of ‘High’
significance by weather type

19. Conclusions
• Impacts within the database include most
identified by CCRA and Welsh scoping study
AND some impacts that it did not e.g. crime
increase in hot weather
• Media reporting of extreme weather and its
impacts is inconsistent and biased –
‘frost/ice/snow’ events produced more reports
than ‘drought’ or ‘high winds’
• Media reports are largely concerned with
immediate impacts on people so long-term
effects or effects on the environment are
rarely reported
• Evidence that greater media reporting of
weather events and impacts, as well as
greater frequency of impacts, over decade

20. World Newspaper coverage of ‘climate
change’ or ‘global warming’ reports

21. Conclusions
• Approach provides quick and effective search
at relatively low cost to scope climate related
impacts
• But, it cannot provide a rigorous assessment
of spatial or temporal changes in impacts
• Considerable differences in spatial distribution
of reported weather events and impacts
across Local Authorities
• Provides a resource for all Local Authorities to
help consider adaptation but could be also
useful more widely

22. Media researchers:
Sandy Miles; Michael Green, Anne Lockett, Clare
Wallace; Mark Morant; Simon Hartley; Jess Hogg
Database validation, reporting and mapping:
Simon Hartley, Mark Morant
22
Acknowledgements