Climate change research will help local planning departments

Award-winning pioneering work by academics at the University of Birmingham could have a dramatic influence on how Birmingham City Council copes with extreme weather situations. A team of specialist meteorologists and climatologists has developed a risk-mapping tool to help planners understand how extreme weather patterns and climate change could impact on communities across Birmingham. Professor John Thornes, Dr Lee Chapman and PhD student Charlie Tomlinson at the University's School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Professor Chris Baker from the School of Civil Engineering have used ground-breaking remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) techniques that will allow departments across the Council and Birmingham Environmental Partnership (BEP) to target services in at-risk areas. They worked closely with Birmingham City Council and BEP to ensure that the revolutionary work can be used practically by the organisations. The project has been so successful it picked up a prestigious Local Authorities Research and Intelligence Association (LARIA) award last month and has contributed to the City Council being awarded a further £62,000 from the Technology Strategy Board and Natural Environmental Research Council to undertake further research with the University of Birmingham. The work is already having an impact on mainstream planning policy at Birmingham City Council, which is using the model to identify climate risks in specific areas and to provide a local perspective on the potential impact of extreme weather at hyperlocal levels.