Climate change: Warnings of flooding, drought and wildfires in NI

The Committee on Climate Change warned about greater risks of flooding, summer droughts and wildfires.

Rising temperatures in NI are one of a series of climate indicators needing more urgent attention, an advisory body to government has said.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) warned about greater risks of flooding, summer droughts and wildfires.

These pose real challenges to communities, food production and infrastructure in the years ahead.

The changing climatic conditions also threaten habitats and biodiversity.

The findings are contained in an assessment of the risks posed by climate change to the devolved nations.

The report is the work of the CCC which is an independent advisory body to government.

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The report found while Northern Ireland's risks were similar to those around the UK, less reliable evidence and fewer climate policies "increased the uncertainty" around future impacts.

The report found Northern Ireland's average annual land temperature between 2010-2019 was 0.7 of a degree warmer than the period from the mid 1970s to the mid 2010s.

It predicted summer heatwaves would become more common.

Winters would be warmer and wetter, and sea levels could rise by almost 20cm by the 2050s, the report suggests.

The report is completed every five years to assist government in deciding climate adaptation plans.

It is aimed at civil servants and ministers charged with formulating policy to mitigate the risks.

The CCC found that across the UK, action was failing to keep pace with the threat.

It said the longer it was postponed, the greater the price to be paid by the government and the taxpayer.

Baroness Brown, chairwoman of the CCC's adaptation committee, said the severity of the risk faced should not be underestimated.

"These risks will not disappear as the world moves to net zero. Many of them are already locked in," she said.

"A detailed, effective action plan that prepares the UK for climate change is now essential and needed urgently."

The CCC said the government had not heeded its advice on the importance of such an adaptation plan or the need to properly fund it.

"This needs to change," it said.