Met Office launches Local Authority Climate Service

The Met Office has launched a Local Authority Climate Service. The tool will provide local authorities with easy access to tailored information on climate change, to support local climate change adaptation planning.

Working with Esri UK, the Met Office has built the new operational service to help local authorities visualise climate challenges, explore climate projections and communicate a climate story specific to their local areas.  

The service will provide local authorities with critical climate information helping them to make informed adaptation plans and decisions, and in turn, empowering organisations to increase their resilience and meet statutory requirements.

The service is funded by Defra, after a commitment in the third National Adaptation Programme, the government’s plan to adapt the UK to climate change which aims to reduce the costs from climate change impacts and make our economy and society more resilient.

Head of climate services at the Met Office, Professor Jason Lowe OBE, said: “Local authorities are key in building resilience to climate change in our communities across the UK. It is vital that our climate projections are available in a format that makes them most accessible and useful for local authorities to apply in assessing risks and starting to plan how to best adapt to our changing climate.
 
“By working with Esri UK we’ve embedded our data into a range of industry leading tools to ensure tailored climate information can be used by the people who need it, and with suitable guidance to help them apply it. We know our climate is changing so it’s important we adapt to the extremes we’re likely to see more of. This new tool is a step forward in assisting local authorities minimise the impacts of climate change for the communities they serve.”

Climate adaptation minister Emma Hardy said: “Tackling climate change not only means accelerating progress towards net zero, but also strengthening the resilience of our communities and adapting to the demands of a changing climate.
 
“Local communities are already being impacted by more frequent and extreme weather, as well as overheating and droughts. These effects will vary in different parts of the country and this new service will support local authorities to more effectively plan and respond.”