According to a statement, the Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure will be funded to the tune of £40 million. The project will be led by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).
Researchers will be based at the latter’s offices across the UK, with additional input from researchers in the British Geological Survey, University of Bristol and Imperial College London. Findings will be shared with key organisations, such as the Environment Agency.
A government spokesperson said: “The complexity of Earth’s climate makes forecasting floods and droughts a major challenge, with climate change only further complicating the picture. Researchers will use the latest technologies including sensors and real time computer monitoring.
“[They will also use] a huge bank of data, including river profiles and near real-time monitoring of information including on atmospherics, ground saturation, water movement, abstraction and storage. Taken together, this will form a clearer impression of where and when extreme weather will strike.”
The government's science and technology secretary, Peter Kyle, said: “Flooding and droughts can devastate UK communities, from leaving people stranded, to destroying homes, gardens, roads and businesses, and even claiming lives.
"With climate change sadly making extreme weather events more common and adding an eye-watering cost to the economy, there is no time to waste in backing our researchers and innovators to ensure we are better prepared for floods and droughts striking.
“This project will help drive that progress, with dedicated teams using the most advanced tech to crunch data gathered from our rivers and paint a clear picture of its likely impact. We will also shortly launch a new Flood Resilience Taskforce to turbocharge the delivery of new flood defences, drainage systems and natural flood management schemes.”
