New Met Office Data to Help FMs Respond to Climate Change

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06 July 2023

A new climate data portal from the Met Office will allow facilities managers to investigate physical climate risks over the next 50 to 100 years.

As part of the Met Office’s remit to maximise the benefits of its data, business owners will be able to combine open climate data with their own research to reveal the future impact of extreme conditions on their operations, including heatwaves, floods or droughts.

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The Climate Data Portal, produced using geospatial technology from Esri UK, contains 60 different data layers to help facilities managers understand how the climate impacts transport infrastructure, health and energy demand. For example, days above 25°C can indicate when trains could be disrupted due to overheating of the railway infrastructure, and days below 0°C can indicate transport disruption and increased energy demand for heating. This could help FMs better manage planned preventative maintenance schedules and help them predict occupancy patterns.

Spatial analysis can be performed at a global, regional or local level enabling location-specific action plans to be developed, giving facilities managers looking after multiple locations specific information which may affect their sites.

“Historically, climate science has defined the problem, now it’s moving to help with the solution, providing information at a local level which is highly relevant to UK organisations,” explained Professor Jason Lowe, Head of Climate Services at the Met Office. 

“By combining the Met Office’s latest projections with Esri UK's geospatial tools, the reach and value of this data is greatly extended. UK stakeholders can investigate their physical climate risks over the next 50 to 100 years. The most detailed climate projections reveal a greater chance of warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers and these help users plan and prepare for extreme weather, climate change and the reporting which new regulations, linked to climate change, will require.”

The ability to anticipate extreme weather events allows facilities managers to not only prepare their on-site teams for working in tough conditions but also to be ready for problems in older or less energy-efficient buildings. Met Office data can now measure heatwave likelihood by region, predicting patterns up until the end of the 21st century.

During the summer of 2020, there were three periods that met the Public Health England (PHE) heatwave definition, and 2022 was the UK’s hottest year on record, with an average temperature of over 10°C recorded for the first time.

Picture: a photograph of several open umbrellas that appear to be hanging from the sky. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 06 July 2023

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