New Welsh Government maps show the danger that climate change poses for the Valleys.
In recent years a succession of brutal storms have caused carnage and misery in the area as huge amounts of water overwhelm river systems.
Sea level rise and flooding are predicted to be real issues in the coming years, even if action is taken immediately to address the climate emergency. This is because temperature rises are thought to be more or less inevitable until 2050.
New maps published by the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales form part of planning guidance which compels developers to take into account future flooding and coastal erosion risk.
Read more: Nine ways climate change is going to drastically alter life in Wales
These maps will be updated every six months and show that 11.3% of Wales is at risk of flooding from the sea. This is up from 9.86% last time the maps were updated. It is worth noting that these images do not take into account future flood defences and reflect the situation on the ground currently.
To make the map the designers used the central estimate for climate change which assumes the following:
- 20-30% increase in river levees at peak flow
- A 20% increase in rainfall
- Just over 1.11 m sea-level rise
The images below show how different parts of Wales will be affected. Green indicate risks from sea-level rise whereas blue indicates a risk of flooding:
Areas likely to face flooding because of increase rain fall and river flows:
Aberdare
Pontypridd
Treorchy and Ton Pentre
Mountain Ash
Merthyr Tydfil
Tonypandy and Porth
Tredegar and Ebbw Vale
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