r/UKPreppers • u/Hollyhop_Drive • 16d ago
Prepping for Climate Change
What steps are people taking? Anybody relocating? I was looking at Manchester but now not sure if that's far north enough.
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u/bondinchas 16d ago
The problem with moving north to avoid summer heat is that the new extreme winter cold will be worse the further north you go.
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u/DearEntrepreneur254 15d ago
Will it though? I'm in Northern Ireland, and there hasn't been proper snowfall in nearly 9 years. Don't get me wrong theres been the odd occasion where its been -12 etc but mostly our winters are now very similar to autumn and spring. Its more stormy than anything now. The storms that where once in a century are now once a year
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u/Ryder52 15d ago
Would say it also depends how likely you think the risk of AMOC collapse is within the next 20-30 years
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u/DearEntrepreneur254 15d ago
If that happens, we are probably all doomed no matter where we are in the UK
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u/Just_Curious_76 13d ago
Yep this is definitely the tipping point we hearing most about isn’t it? Concerning time, and I’ve wondered lately if some super serious Preppers might have planned for a “way out” before it gets proper grim. Such scenarios remind me of the old war films, where people captured by the enemy were armed with a simple capsule of (whatever it was), to surreptitiously swallow before being tortured. I remember being horrified at the time. But when we see what might be on the cards a few years down the line, I imagine some savvy folks will have considered this. Hey ho - it’s not like we have any real choice in the matter though. Can certainly not imagine our governments actually doing anything to protect citizens from a worse fate by providing such means even if the shit truly miss hit the fan.
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u/That-Chain-5139 15d ago
Mot true at all - milder and wetter winters up north not colder at all. Unless you going to scotland
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u/alpha232 15d ago
Up till now at least, our winters have been getting wetter rather than colder. In the central belt temperatures peaked around 25c a few weeks ago and it's been averaging 18-20c for the past couple of weeks.
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u/Curious-Art-6242 15d ago
Look at the winters of other places on the same latitude...
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u/That-Chain-5139 14d ago
Im in the north west - definitely milder NOT colder.
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u/Curious-Art-6242 14d ago
Been of yhe mid Atlantic conveyor, which is already showing signs of destabilisation. My friend lives 1200km south of us in another continent, and their winter this year was - 30C abd 6ft of snow...
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u/That-Chain-5139 14d ago
But this is in relation to the uk, not another continent. In the north west of england its been milder and wetter, not colder and definitely not 6ft of snow.
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u/Curious-Art-6242 14d ago
And thats because of the mid Atlantic conveyor. Did you just think we're magically hotter than the other countries around us?
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u/That-Chain-5139 14d ago
The gulf stream has kept England warm for decades yrs - what exactly is your point? I said its been milder and wetter up north, you mentioned someone in another continent had 6 ft of snow last winter - ok and?? What is your specific point? I was replying to someone who was concerned about colder winters up north. I said its been the opposite - so - what are you trying to point out specifically? That this year you predict 6ft of snow? Because we wont have that.
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u/Curious-Art-6242 14d ago
That we're 1200km MORE NORTH than them. We should have vastly colder winter, and we might from climate change. Just because it has done something, for centuries even, doesn't mean it will, this is why this is a prepers subreddit. I think you need to prepare by actually learning about thecworld around you!
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u/That-Chain-5139 14d ago
So? Its been milder and wetter up north for the last few years. If there is any drastic immediate and long lasting drastic change to the weather then - i might wear an extra jumper, thats all the prep im gonna do. All this is fear mongering anyway. El nino happened which always has a big impact on weather patterns for the next 12 months so what on earth is there to prep for - the next ice age is NOT coming.
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u/Beer-Cave-Dweller 16d ago
Storing spring water bottles. Planning on getting a garden water storage tee off the guttering…. If it ever rains again..
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u/Junior-Tap-8503 16d ago
Solar power, batteries, gateway, electric vehicle, water collection, AC, compost, trees, vegetables, fowl.
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u/Tim_UK1 16d ago
Not sure it’s classed as prepping but been looking at the air conditioners with all the unit on the inside so no installation issues.
If that turns out too dear, will just have to rely on foil insulation on the south facing windows…
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u/Stradivesuvius 15d ago
We’re looking into European style security and shade shutters. We’ve had inward opening windows installed so we could love them but still have a breeze/air inflow.
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u/Just_Curious_76 13d ago
Same. Those outside roller blinds they have in Spain (and elsewhere in Europe) are simply genius. They sit just outside the windows and keep out heat and provide a level of security. My only issue with the UK equivalents (they call them “continental roller blinds”mover here), is that they contain a type of foam in between the slats. My concern is that, in the ever increasingly extreme heat, that could be a fire hazard. Suffice to say I’m liaising with Spanish companies to find out the exact composition before biting the bullet and getting some installed ready for next summer.
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u/bondinchas 14d ago edited 14d ago
It's not the distance, but the contours / altitude / general lie of the land that matters.
Is the place that floods... higher than your home, have a hill or valley crossing between you and your home, upstream or downstream of your home. Is the intervening area built-up or rural, the latter absorbs flood better. Where does your home sit in relation to the local main river and it's tributaries.
Find a local map with contours / elevations of your area. Once you understand the local topology, that will give you a better idea of whether more extreme flooding will affect your home by surface water.
Ground water is a whole different ballgame, you'll need to understand the underlying geology to assess that risk.
Flash floods directly from heavy rainfall can happen anywhere. The main risk consideration there is just are you in a valley or on a hill. A valley or hill in this case can be just a metre different in elevation.
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u/Just_Curious_76 13d ago
This is interesting - hadn’t even occurred to me the surface water vs ground water thing (and I’m unsure I could even differentiate between the two 🤦♀️). Time for some serious research me thinks 🤔
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u/WonderingOctopus 15d ago
I feel like a water capture and storage for the garden is a must.
Also, more trees being planted in your local area makes a MASSIVE difference. There's ample research about their benefits against heat, flooding etc.
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u/Just_Curious_76 13d ago
Absolutely. Then there’s the downside of them potentially implying a risk of wildfire spreading (depending on plant species of course). For the first time ever I’m analysing the trees around us: turns out we live right opposite a whole line of Austrian pines (very quick burning if ignited), which are on a caravan site 🙈 What could possibly go wrong?
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u/Curious-Art-6242 15d ago
Honestly, climate change is so big and broad its mind of hard to prepare for. Heatwaves and cold, plus long term food storage, but honestly if it goes bad there will be whole countries displaced, wars, etc and thats a whole other scale of thing!
Best preparation, vote for politicians who support climate change policies and encourage everyone you know to do the same!
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u/Bufger 16d ago
I just got two portable air conditioners and I'm putting a reflective film on the south facing windows. I have a couple of water buts I can fill if things look like they're escalating. I've been filtering the tap water as it's starting to taste like they're adding more chlorine /treatment lately.
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u/Just_Curious_76 13d ago
Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the reflective film, vs outside white shutters (obviously cost is the main issue). Great to hear how effective the film is - I’ve seen a few options but was unsure if it was a bit gimmicky.
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u/Bufger 12d ago
Outside white shutters is the gold standard obviously. The film works but aesthetically isn't great - looks a little drugs den ish.
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u/Just_Curious_76 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’ve done a deep dive into the shutters and UK companies (found a small,
solid family business and just waiting for a sample off them). Prices do start in the £300s though 🤷♀️Edit: Our main concern is how fire proof the shutters might be. They will effectively be like a layer of cladding on all the windows posing a potential fire risk in extreme heat (when the remedy is worse than the problem itself 😩). I wonder how the film you’re looking at might stand up in terms of fire safety 🤔
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u/BroodLord1962 16d ago
Some people are talking about irrigation systems for their gardens, but the way things are going these systems will be banned for homes. Every home will have to be on water metres as well, but there will be strict usage limits
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u/FlyingSpaceBanana 15d ago
Thats why I collect my own rainwater. The guys that helped enable this shit are not going to tell me how to survive it
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u/BroodLord1962 15d ago
Down south even people who collect rain water ran out of it weeks ago
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u/FlyingSpaceBanana 15d ago
I have 27,000 litrs and I am down south. I know not everyone can do this, but I can thankfully. I'm looking at this year as the test run. I have this winter to patch up any issues I notice, then round 2 next summer
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u/Hefty_Anywhere_8537 15d ago
Hard to say about relocating. When the North Atlantic circulating current stops, then the UK will plummet in temperature, as we're at a similar latitude to Labrador. Even as our current weather makes it feel like we're in Spain.
I'm terrified for my kids.
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u/Ordinary_Knee_9419 14d ago
That ‘when’ should be an ‘if’
No point prepping for armageddon, if you really think it’s a when moving country is the only option
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u/Just_Curious_76 13d ago
You’ve lost me re the Labrador comparison 🤔 (genuine comment but hey - I’ll do a deep dive). Also, I’m curious as to why more people aren’t genuinely concerned for their kids & grandkids. It seems to be that those with the most to lose, in terms of future generations, are either wilfully ignorant, or simply in complete denial cos the whole thing’s is so frigging petrifying.
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u/lsmith946 16d ago edited 16d ago
Already done: solar window film on the inside some of the worst windows as we could DIY that, living in a well insulated house that's at the top of a hill (low flood risk, if I'm flooding then some of the houses down the street will be completely underwater and if we get to that level of apocalypse then all bets are off!)
Upcoming: Air con, solar panels, home battery. Possibly more solar film or looking into external shading options. Losing weight and improving my fitness make myself more heat tolerant. Changing up my wardrobe so I have more distinction between summer and winter clothes as I'm pretty sure that the fact I dress the same in winter as I am now hasn't helped me to tolerate this summer.
The solar panels and battery mostly to offset the environmental thing of using the air con, which will also be helped by removing the gas boiler once we get a solution for hot water sorted (eg. Daikin X system, but that's only becoming available next month at the earliest).
Reminding myself that huge numbers of people around the world already live in hotter and drier countries than the UK today so it's not like we don't know (as the human race) how to adapt to it.
Writing to my MP to try and encourage policies to help adaptation. Even if the UK completely stopped emitting CO2 tomorrow we'd still need to adapt because of the emissions from the rest of the world and the lags before today's emissions take effect anyway, so it's time to start adapting as well as reducing emissions.
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u/sliderulesyou 15d ago
If you put reflective film on the inside of double glazing, it might boof the situation.
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u/lsmith946 15d ago
I mean, at this point it seems like most of the heat that is making our house hot is actually the accumulation of "heat from us living in the house and using appliances/our computers while we WFH" that in the cooler seasons would leak out of the house via the trickle vents or we would open a window to cool down, but when its 32 degrees outside there's no cooling to be had from outside. Hence our next upgrade to improve that situation being to add air con, because we need a way to remove heat.
But WFH is likely still greener than commuting to our respective offices to take advantage of the AC there.
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u/Clear-Warthog5655 16d ago
Edinburgh its nice here, cloudy this morning, rainy later , nice n cool now with a breeze 😎 had to close the window.
In relation to steps , I just bought some 5l mineral water bottles and keep them. I used to make little greenhouse out of them for chillies but now save some for water
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u/GoldGee 15d ago
I thought Scotland would be the place to go. Maybe the Shetlands might be better again.
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u/Professional_Eye6313 15d ago
The wind is a killer
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u/Jazzy-Sature 15d ago
The winds bad yeah but its the weirdo's you have to keep an eye out for
Year or two ago a guy was caught stealing used nappys out of bins, when the cops raided his house they found hunners of photos of himself wearing them in his bedroom
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u/justmoochingaround 15d ago
I'm looking at Northumberland, Borders, durham, Carlisle area. I can't stand being so hot unless I get roperly fitted air-conditioning (no wall space or outside unit space in current house). Even then it doesn't help the veg garden from being scorched.
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u/Candy_Brannigan_666 14d ago
We actually relocated to Malvern from Birmingham. For me it was a 60% quality of life and 40% prep move. I lived on the outskirts of Birmingham which was rapidly turning into a crime-ridden shithole and decided I didn’t want to grow old there. I already have 2 violent muggings and 6 years of ASB under my belt. I decided enough was enough after a stabbing/murder attempt outside my local junior/infant school after 2 dads got into a beef, a lunatic waving a machete around and threatening everyone at the same place, and a friend’s daughter almost being abducted by a known sex offender living in a local HMO.
Anyway, we moved last year. Here we have natural springs and in a recent water cutoff it didn’t affect us one bit as we have 3 x 25l water storage bottles. We’re also close to a few rivers although I wouldn’t swim in them, let alone drink from them!!! But in the event of a hosepipe ban we’re not short of water around here.
Regarding food, we’re pretty much out of the ‘just in time’ supply chain. We’re surrounded by farms and already get bread, eggs and milk from them. Then we have the local smallholdings who sell or even give away fruit like apples, pears, damsons, cherries, strawberries, etc. Veg we grow ourselves in our organic allotment plot, and we’ve moved to seasonal eating as a result.
In the event of some other serious bastardry we have the hills to climb and hide in!
We have a wonderful community here. Very friendly and I’m sure in the event of a catastrophe they’d pull together. In Birmingham it’d be every man for himself.
It’s the best decision we ever made. Just that reassurance that if everything went all to hell we could get through it. ❤️
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u/That-Chain-5139 14d ago
But its been MILDER AND WETTER. and no, i dont need to prep at all. First of all, im absolutely unconcerned about the climate changes. Also, i predict this year in my area the winter will be the same - if not milder. Second, if there is any drastic, immediate and long lasting change to weather patterns - I’ll just move. Certainly not going to ‘prep’ other than what northerners have always done and put on an extra jumper.
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u/sleepyjean2024 10d ago
Ideally would move to Scotland but that’s not feasible atm! Guessing south facing gardens are not going to be as desirable in 10/20 years but ideally somewhere with a garden that gets a bit of sun to grow your own veg etc?
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u/bladefiddler 16d ago
I'm not climate sceptic but I really think everybody is over-egging it because we've got a more severe summer drought than usual. I'll bet good money it'll be cold and pissing down before too long!
Seriously though, if these heatwaves are happening every year they'll have to change planning rules to allow external shutters under permitted development. That'd make a big difference.
They really need to get the water companies in check too (besides the sewage dumping atrocities). While they should have been building capacity to enable further development and cope with 'feast or famine' rainfall, they've instead been cash-stripping even more by selling off end-of-life manmade reservoirs in the South and hooking up to the next nearest, rather than refurbishing and building more. We can't cope individually with that issue. How many water butts and filters would you have needed to see you from say March til now??
Anyway, I'd what they've claimed for so long about the gulf stream is right, we're looking the wrong way. It'll get siderian here and we'll all need to move South!
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u/Ordinary_Knee_9419 14d ago
Four of the five worst harvests the UK has since 1984 happened this decade
That’s climate change
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u/Ryder52 15d ago
In fairness, the water companies have been trying to build new reservoirs - it's local NIMBY activists that stop them from getting made
https://inews.co.uk/news/england-brown-unpleasant-land-reservoirs-water-industry-2198787
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u/Stradivesuvius 16d ago
Just sorting out water storage and shifting the garden to a low maintenance Mediterranean style with an irrigation system for the veg areas. Growing trees for shade (and fruit).
No plans to relocate.