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Knowledge of the changing global temperature has contributed to an international political agreement being reached about the over-arching objective of climate change mitigation policies. The School's scientists have made a crucial contribution to one of only three datasets that reveal changes to the world's average temperature over the last 150 years. These data have been central to each of the five Assessment Reports of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), upon which successive rounds of international climate change negotiations relied and which led, in 2009, to the adoption of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius as an agreed international policy goal.
Climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing modern society and there is a paramount requirement for government policy informed by science, and scientifically credible public information. Observations of sea surface temperatures, and their corroboration, are a focus for governments — climate change mitigation is economically important in a warming world. This UoA has provided the science leadership for a major satellite programme, the ATSRs, specifically designed to provide high-quality sea temperature data. Results from our research reduce uncertainties on global temperature change with unexpectedly wide benefits also to operational oceanography and weather forecasting. Public visibility through the Science Museum is also high.
Heat tolerant rice varieties, which are better adapted to predicted climate change scenarios, are critical for the future livelihood of millions of rice growers and for the 50% of the global population that depends on rice as a staple in their daily diet. Research conducted at the University of Reading has informed the development of heat-tolerant rice in two ways. Firstly, novel protocols developed at Reading for heat-tolerance screening have been adopted by rice crop breeding nurseries across Asia. Secondly, Reading researchers identified a heat tolerant rice variety that is now the basis of advanced breeding programmes. In addition, the research conducted at Reading has led to widespread recognition among international policy-makers and influencers, such as the World Bank, of the importance of high temperature extremes on crops as part of the consideration of impacts of human-induced climate change.
Protecting London from the threat of flooding is of prime importance to the nation. Work in the Unit on regional sea-level rise and on the effect of storm surges was used in the Environment Agency's Thames Estuary 2100 (TE2100) plan to assess potential change in risk. The Unit's work estimated a very unlikely maximum rise in sea level of 2.7m by 2100, considerably lower than the previous worst-case scenario of 4.2m. It confirmed that 90 centimetres was the figure that should be used for developing the plan. TE2100 concluded that a second Thames Barrier (estimated cost £10-20 billion at today's prices) would not be needed not by 2030, but may be needed by 2070. Our results have been used to define procedures for the monitoring of regional sea and Thames water levels over the next few decades, and to review decision-making procedures to ensure that the risk of flooding in London is kept within acceptable levels, while avoiding unnecessary costs
Research at the University of Southampton has redefined understanding of the potential rapidity of sea level rise above the present, and of the relationship between climate change and sea level. It has informed the "worst-case scenario" for climate change flood risk assessment in the UK as well as key adaptation policy documents throughout Europe, North America and Australasia. Impact generation occurs mainly though active public engagement, which ensures widespread international media attention, and through direct interaction with the Environment Agency (EA) and UK Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) which have now joined the research group in a £3.3 million consortium project to better define the "worst case scenario".