UKCP09: UK Climate Projections

The UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) give climate information for the UK up to the end of this century. Projections of future changes to our climate are provided, based on simulations from climate models. The purpose of providing information on the possible future climate is to help those needing to plan how they will adapt to help society and the natural environment to cope with a changing climate.

The checklist below will help to identify whether or not your business or organisation could benefit from using UKCP09. If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it is worth exploring the UKCP09 pages further.

Is your organisation:

  • affected by changes to averages (like temperature or precipitation (rain, snow, hail) or extremes of weather or climate;
  • taking decisions or making investments with long-lifetimes, such as construction;
  • making significant investments or has high value at stake, such as protecting life or natural environment;
  • providing or supporting critical national infrastructure, like power supply; or
  • taking decisions with significant impacts, perhaps creating a technical standard, that cannot be changed for more than a decade?

The Projections show three different scenarios representing High, Medium and Low greenhouse gas scenarios – this can help to demonstrate the importance of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation).

The UK Climate Projections are based on a new methodology designed by the Met Office, which allows a measure of the uncertainty in future climate projections to be included in the information. UKCP09 is funded by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

This website gives a brief introduction to UKCP09 – for more in-depth information, please go to the UK Climate Projections website.

For details of training and elearning on the Projections, please see the Training pages.

The previous set of climate change scenarios, UKCIP02, are still available for research purposes, and where access is necessary for confirming adherence to existing standards and guidance. Please see the UKCIP02 section for details of how to access the information.

Introduction to the UK Climate Projections podcast