1. Climate change in the UK

2. Like the rest of the world, the UK must be prepared to face a changing climate. Climate projections are predictions of how the climate will change in the future, based on the latest scientific understanding. They can help people to plan how they will adapt to help society and the natural environment to cope with climate change.

3. Who needs to know now about the future climate in the UK? Construction industry Energy industry Water companies Local councils Planners of flood and coastal defences Tourism industry Farmers Fisheries Forestry organisations Populations of coastal zones and low-lying areas

5. What parts of the Earth’s climate are included in a GCM? Factors such as- Soil moisture Type of land surface Winds over landscape Factors such as- Snow Glaciers Ice sheets Factors such as- Ocean currents Water vapour Heat storage Factors such as- Wind Clouds Precipitation AtmosphereOcean LandIce

6. How does a GCM work? The latest Met Office GCM is called HadCM3. It divides the Earth’s atmosphere into 19 different layers and the ocean into 20 different layers. It also divides the atmosphere into 2.5° latitude x 3.75° longitude grid squares. Together, this makes about a million grid points. The Met Office uses a very powerful computer, a supercomputer, to calculate all the movements of heat and water between grid points. This simulates the Earth’s climate.