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The deadly 1952 event is thought to have caused more than 12,000 deaths

It's known that coal burning was to blame, but processes were a mystery

Study has now found that sulfuric acid particles mixed with natural fog

This diluted the particles and created an acidic haze that covered the city

In 1952, a mysterious fog swept through London, blanketing the city in a dense layer of pollutants that killed thousands of people and animals and made it difficult to breathe for days.

While the exact cause has long remained unknown, an international team of researchers now says its solved the mystery - and the same air chemistry can be seen today in China and other areas.

In a new analysis, the researchers have pinpointed the chemical processes that combined with natural fog as a result of coal burning, eventually creating a deadly acidic haze that turned the sky completely dark.

When the fog first rolled through in December of 1952, residents took little notice; fogs have long enveloped the city.

But in the days to follow, visibility was reduced to just three feet in some areas, transportation was shut down, and thousands of people suffered from breathing problems.

After the devastating event, it was thought that at least 4,000 people had died, along with thousands of animals, and more than 150,000 people were hospitalized.

Later studies, however, estimate that the death count may actually have exceeded 12,000.

Now, using data from modern pollution in China, researchers have determined that the catastrophic event was the result of sulfuric acid particles mixing with natural fog to cover the entire city.

'People have known that sulfate was a big contributor to the fog, and sulfuric acid particles were formed from sulfur dioxide released by coal burning for residential use and power plants, and other means,' says Renyi Zhang, University Distinguished Professor and the Harold J. Haynes Chair of Atmospheric Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University.

'But how sulfur dioxide was turned into sulfuric acid was unclear.

'Our results showed that this process was facilitated by nitrogen dioxide, another co-product of coal burning, and occurred initially on natural fog.

'Another key aspect in the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfate is that it produces acidic particles, which subsequently inhibits this process.

'Natural fog contained larger particles of several tens of micrometers in size, and the acid formed was sufficiently diluted.

'Evaporation of those fog particles, then left smaller acidic haze particles that covered the city.'

According to the researcher, a similar chemistry frequently occurs in modern China, which hosts 16 of the world's most polluted cities.

But, China's pollution problem is not exactly the same.

The country has experienced massive industrial and manufacturing growth over the past few decades, and the emissions largely come from power plants, automobiles, and fertilizers.

'The difference in China is that the haze starts from much smaller nanoparticles, and the sulfate formation process is only possible with ammonia to neutralize the particles,' Zhang said.

'In China, sulfur dioxide is mainly emitted by power plants, nitrogen dioxide is from power plants and automobiles, and ammonia comes from fertilizer use and automobiles.

'Again, the right chemical processes have to interplay for the deadly haze to occur in China. Interestingly, while the London fog was highly acidic, contemporary Chinese haze is basically neutral.'

The 1952 event is considered to be the deadliest air pollution event in European history, and spurred the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1956 by British Parliament.

And, while China has been making attempts in recent years to cut back on its emissions, the researchers note that the poor air quality still often necessitates breathing masks during much of the day.

By solving the mystery of the London fog, they say they may also have uncovered insight that could help in China.

'A better understanding of the air chemistry holds the key for development of effective regulatory actions in China,' Zhang said.

'The government has pledged to do all it can to reduce emissions going forward, but it will take time.

'We think we have helped solve the 1952 London fog mystery and also have given China some ideas of how to improve its air quality.

'Reduction in emissions for nitrogen oxides and ammonia is likely effective in disrupting this sulfate formation process.'

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Mystery of London's deadly fog in 1952 revealed in new analysis

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The deadly 1952 event is thought to have caused more than 12,000 deaths It's known that coal burning was to blame, but processes were a mystery Study has now found that sulfuric acid particles mixed with natural fog This diluted the particles and created an acidic haze that covered the city In 1952, a mysterious fog swept through London, blanketing the city in a dense layer of pollutants that killed thousands of people and animals and made it difficult to breathe for days.

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Imagine smog so thick that you can't see your feet as you walk through it; so impenetrable that it blots out the sun; so toxic that it stings your eyes and leaves you gasping for breath.

It may sound like the backdrop to some post-apocalyptic nightmare, but on 5 December 1952, this terrifying scenario became the reality for the people of London. That day's incident alone killed thousands and prompted a global transformation in the way we deal with air pollution.

On that cold, clear day in 1952, Londoners huddled around their coal fires for warmth. But while the smoke would normally disperse into the atmosphere, an anticyclone hanging over the region created an inversion - trapping the pollution close to the ground and leading to the formation of a sulphurous, toxic shroud that would blanket the capital for the next five days.

Before the weather conditions changed and the smog retreated, thousands had died. Official estimates at the time put the number of fatalities at 4,000 - more civilian casualties than were caused by any single incident during the war - while recent research suggests that it may have caused as many as 12,000 deaths.
'Necessary evil'
Although 'pea-soupers', as the smogs were known, had been an unavoidable feature of Britain's major cities for more than a hundred years, the Great Smog of 1952 was the worst.

It also marked something of a turning point: until then, people had accepted smog as a necessary evil. "In Britain's coal-fuelled cities, smoke was tolerated for more than a century as a trade-off for jobs and home comforts," says environmental historian Dr Stephen Mosley. Some even celebrated air pollution as a tangible measure of Britain's industrial vitality, while the blazing coal fire, with all its cosy connotations of 'home and hearth', was a luxury few were prepared to give up.

Smoke was tolerated as a trade-off for jobs and home comforts - Stephen Mosley

Despite growing public pressure to deal with the issue, the government's reaction was sluggish. Initially it even claimed that December's high mortality was due to a flu outbreak, and seven months elapsed before it eventually ordered an inquiry.

Four years later, in 1956, the Clean Air Act came into force, banning the burning of polluting fuels in "smoke control areas" across the UK.

The act was truly revolutionary, representing a major global milestone in environmental protection. Public health was vastly improved; flora and fauna that had all but vanished from urban places by the 1950s began to flourish; and the grand architecture of Britain's cities was no longer obscured beneath a thick layer of soot and grime. In the years that followed, a host of other industrial nations were inspired to follow suit.
Air issues
But, while air pollution from coal may be a thing of past, London's air quality problem hasn't gone away. And with a recent study suggesting that pollution in the capital claims as many as 9,500 lives a year, a growing number of scientists, politicians and campaigners believe that on the eve of the Clean Air Act's 60th anniversary, the UK must once again invoke its pioneering spirit.

The study, which was carried out for Transport for London by Kings College London's Environmental Research Group, attributes these premature deaths to two main pollutants: fine particulates known as PM2.5 and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

NO2 could be to blame for as many as 9,500 premature deaths in London each year

NO2 levels are of particular concern. London has the world's highest measured levels of the gas and has breached EU safety limits every year for the last five. In 2015, NO2 levels on Oxford Street broke the annual limit in just four days.

The KCL study estimated that the gas could be to blame for as many as 5,900 premature deaths a year.

While scientists have been aware of NO2's toxic properties for many years, the fact that it's usually present with other pollutants has made it difficult to isolate its impact, says Kings College air quality specialist Martin Williams. Only now have researchers been able to conclude that there is an independent effect.

Nevertheless, says the study's author Dr Heather Walton, there is still some uncertainty on exactly how many deaths can be attributed to the gas.

NO2 pollution has a range of sources. But according to the government's Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, emissions from transport account for at least 80%. Diesel vehicles, which form more than a third of London's road traffic, are the biggest culprits.

Because of their fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, diesel engines have been heavily incentivised over the last couple of decades - with successive governments turning a blind eye to their higher particulate and NOx (mono-nitrogen oxides NO and NO2) emissions.

Ironically, the effect of diesel engines has been made worse by the use of technology designed to make them less polluting. "Diesels emit particles in much larger quantities than petrol cars so were fitted with particle filters," says Williams. "These trap the particles on filters, but every now and again they have to be burned off - NO in emissions is converted to NO2 which helps to oxidise and burn off particles in the filter. To solve the particle problem, NO2 emissions were being increased."

Still, London's deputy mayor for Environment and Energy Matthew Pencharz says there wouldn't be a problem if EU emissions testing could actually be relied upon. He says that vehicles are often up to 10 times more polluting on the road than they are on the test cycle. "If the vehicles had all performed the way we've been promised by the EU, we would be within the NO2 limit values around now," he says.

Don't tell me there isn't a street somewhere similar to Oxford Street with higher NO2 values. The thing is they haven't measured it - Matthew Pencharz

And one of the main reasons that London's figures look so grim, he says, may be that London is simply better at measuring pollution than everyone else.

"We have one of the most robust air pollution measurement networks in the world," he says. "Don't tell me there isn't a street somewhere similar to Oxford Street with higher values. The thing is they haven't measured it. No one else measures it as accurately as we do."

Williams agrees. "We're certainly as good as the best, if not the best, in terms of monitoring. The levels are the highest we've been able to find, but I would have thought if you looked hard, you could probably find levels almost as high in other large cities."
Breathing easier?
The good news is that NO2 levels are beginning to fall. Selective catalytic reduction systems, which are able to remove many of the NOx emissions from exhausts, are now legally required on many of the most polluting diesel vehicles, and the KCL study points to a modest decline in concentrations over the past few years.

Newer, less polluting vehicles are being rolled out across the capital. More than 1,200 hybrid buses now operate in London, including the new diesel-electric Routemaster - which according to TFL produces a quarter of the NOx and particulate emissions of conventional diesel buses. TFL is also expected to shortly announce the introduction of the world's first zero-emissions double-decker.

Newer, less polluting vehicles are being rolled out across the capital

Efforts are also underway to clean up the city's taxi fleet, with TFL recently announcing that from January 2018, all new taxis licensed in London must emit less than 50g/km of CO2 and have a zero-emission range of 30 miles. Earlier this year Metrocab, a battery-powered vehicle that uses a small combustion engine as a range extender, became TFL's first licensed zero-emission-capable taxi. And the London Taxi Company recently unveiled the prototype TX5, a lightweight, battery-powered Black cab that it plans to put into production during 2016.

There is also the much trumpeted Ultra Low Emission Zone: from 2020, all vehicles entering London's existing congestion charge zone will need to meet exhaust emissions standards or pay an additional daily charge to travel.

But many claim these developments don't go far enough. The mayor's office has faced heavy criticism for ditching its initial plans to simply ban the most polluting vehicles from the emission zone. And as it now stands, diesel vehicles meeting new Euro 6 emissions standards - which emit high levels of NO2 - will be exempt from the charges. What's more, a recent survey of 500 businesses found that 23% would rather pay a charge than upgrade their vehicles.

"You have to look at where you can get the best impact for the least amount of compliance and cost," Pencharz says. "Electric vans don't exist at a reasonable cost for business."
Precedent for change
Others point to the far wider-reaching changes of the Clean Air Act as an example of how people can adapt. "Before the Clean Air Act, people said 'the government doesn't have the money, the poor are going to starve or freeze'. And that wasn't what happened," says Simon Birkett, founder of campaigning group Clean Air In London. "Once these limits are put in place, people find the cheapest way of complying with them."

Still, perhaps the main lesson to be learned from history is that it is exceptionally challenging to persuade people to change their habits - and to persuade government to force this change.

"The right to burn a coal fire in one's own home was seen as an inviolable freedom in the past, and not until the 1952 smog did the government feel that it had sufficient public support to make changes that affected personal liberty," Mosley says. "Let's hope that it won't be a case of history repeating itself."
Jon Excell is the editor of The Engineer.

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Imagine smog so thick that you can't see your feet as you walk through it; so impenetrable that it blots out the sun; so toxic that it stings your eyes and leaves you gasping for breath. It may sound like the backdrop to some post-apocalyptic nightmare, but on 5 December 1952, this terrifying scenario became the reality for the people of London.

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Issue

Serious flooding can happen at any time. In England, more than 5 million properties are at risk of flooding - that's nearly 1 in 6.

There are also more than 250 homes at risk due to coastal erosion in the next 20 years. It's possible around 700 more homes could become at risk in the next 50 years.

The latest climate projections indicate that sea levels will rise, and there will be increasingly severe and frequent rainstorms. This means the risk of floods will increase.

Read about the UK government response to the 2014 UK floods.

Actions

Managing the risks of flooding

We develop the policies and legislation that set out how the authorities should manage the risks of flooding and coastal erosion - see who is responsible for managing flood risk.

We're working with the authorities to make sure that their responses to flooding and coastal erosion are consistent with policy and legislation. We provide guidance to a wide range of organisations.

We're basing our work on the national flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy for England. This sets out:

Funding flood and coastal erosion risk management

Funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management projects is available for local authorities, internal drainage boards and the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency are managing the allocation of funding.

Over the next six years, we will be investing £2.3 billion in more than 1,500 projects across the country. This will reduce flood risk for more than 300,000 households, on top of the 230,000 homes already protected since 2010. It will help keep families and businesses safe from the damage that flooding can cause.

The programme of flood and coastal defence improvements is built up of schemes developed and promoted by local authorities, internal drainage boards and the Environment Agency. They have been developed in collaboration with communities. We have published details of the projects in the programme. The work we are doing will help authorities to manage flood risks better, as well as do more. Defra's "investment plan" sets out how the resources will improve flood and coastal erosion risk management over the coming years.

In our investment plan, we explained that the Chancellor had agreed to bring forward up to £60 million over the next 4 years. This is from within the total £2.3 billion budget. We have also been able to free up more than £80 million from within the budget over the six year period. We've done this through better management of risk and contingency at a programme level. This has allowed us to invest more than £140 million in accelerating work over the next six years. The Environment Agency has consulted Regional Flood and Coastal Committees on which schemes will benefit. A full list of the new and accelerated schemes has been published.

Dealing with flood emergencies

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs ( Defra) is responsible for national emergency planning for flooding. To make sure all relevant agencies and organisations are properly prepared to deal with flooding, we:

Read more about how we plan for and deal with flood emergencies.

Flood insurance: making sure people get a fair deal

We're working with the insurance industry and others to make sure that home insurance is widely available and affordable in flood risk areas, and that this doesn't cause insurance prices to rise for other people.

On 27 June 2013 we announced an agreement with the insurance industry to guarantee affordable flood insurance for people in high risk areas. The industry's proposal - called Flood Re - would replace the current voluntary agreement (the Statement of Principles).

Part 4 in the Water Act 2014 sets out the broad scope of the regulations and how Flood Re will operate.

We published the government's response to the consultation on the draft regulations necessary for the implementation of Flood Re in December 2014. We have reviewed the draft regulations to reflect comments made during the consultation and these draft regulations have now been laid before Parliament. They will be debated in the next Parliament.

Flood Re will protect many of those most at risk by limiting flood insurance premiums according to Council Tax bands (or equivalent in Devolved Administrations). This will help low income households.

To pay for this, a new industry-backed levy would enable insurance companies to cover those at most risk of flooding. All UK household insurers would have to pay into this pool, creating a fund that can be used to pay claims for people in high-risk homes. In the meantime, we've published a guide to help people to get affordable insurance.

We've also worked with the insurance industry and others to agree a template that can be completed by a surveyor after fitting resistant or resilient property level protection to a home. This flood risk report confirms the flood risk for a property so that insurers can take this into account when quoting for the cost of insurance.

We are working with the insurance industry to establish Flood Re by July 2015. There will be a period of testing and Flood Re will need to be authorised by the independent financial regulators. Once this has happened, households at high flood risk will be able to access to affordable flood insurance.

Insurers have agreed to continue to abide by their commitments under the 2008 Statement of Principles until the Flood Re scheme is fully operational.

Background

The Pitt Review

The Pitt Review was carried out following devastating flooding in 2007. It resulted in a series of recommendations for improving the way flood risk is managed in England. We're committed to implementing the recommendations to improve our flood defences and prevent unnecessary building in areas of high flood risk.

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010

Our response to the Pitt review resulted in new legislation - the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This:

We've published:

Flood maps

The Environment Agency published new flood maps on 12 December 2013. These show the area that could be affected by flooding, either from rivers and the sea, reservoirs and for the first time surface water.

Flood risk regulations 2009

The EU Flood Directive (2007) requires all EU countries to take a common approach to flood risk management. This includes preparing:

The Floods Directive is transposed into English law through the Flood Risk Regulations 2009 which complement the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

England and other UK administrations are in the process of implementing the EU legislation. Where possible, existing maps and plans used to manage flood risk will be adapted and developed to meet the requirements of the EU Directive and to co-ordinate with implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.

We've produced guidance to lead local flood authorities on the methodology for identifying flood risk areas in England and Wales.

Guidance is available on Flood Risk Management Plans: what they are and who's responsible for them and how to prepare them.

New approaches to managing coastal change

In June 2009 we funded 15 pathfinder projects to help communities adapt to a changing coastline. Work on these projects is now mostly completed.

Several of the pathfinder authorities developed approaches that involved moving assets and people at risk to safer locations. These are now being trialled.

Who we're working with

The Department for Communities and Local Government ( DCLG) is responsible for planning policy, including policy affecting the development of land which is at risk from flooding or coastal erosion.

The Environment Agency takes a strategic overview for all sources of flooding and coastal erosion in England. It also has operational responsibility for managing flood risk from rivers and the sea.

Lead local flood authorities (the unitary authority or the County Council where there is no unitary) are responsible for managing risk of flooding from small watercourses, surface runoff and groundwater.

Sewerage undertakers (often water companies, which raise funding through water rates or meter charges) are responsible for flooding from most sewers.

Internal drainage boards manage water levels and drainage of land in some low lying areas.

Coastal (local) authorities and the Environment Agency manage risks for coastal erosion.

More detail about who is responsible for managing flood risks.

Appendix 1: planning for and dealing with flood emergencies

This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.

Defra has overall responsibility for national-level flood emergency planning and for ensuring co-ordinated policy and other support, as necessary, to local emergency responders.

There are a range of other local and national organisations involved in planning for, and dealing with, flooding. We set out who is responsible for what in our Lead department plan.

This takes account of lessons identified following the summer 2007 floods, the November 2007 East Coast tidal surge and the Cumbria flooding in 2009, as well as issues raised in the Pitt report.

The National Flood Emergency Framework outlines how relevant organisations should plan, deliver and support their own local responses to flooding.

The Flood Rescue Concept of Operations sets the framework for national co-ordination of flood rescue in England. It involves government departments, the emergency services, and other rescue agencies.

Provisions for government co-ordination

The Civil Contingencies Secretariat is part of the Cabinet Office. It works in partnership with government departments, the devolved administrations and main stakeholders to improve the UK's ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

The role of the Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is responsible for:

It also makes sure local professional partners are well briefed on the likelihood and implications of flooding.

Local planning by the Local Resilience Forums

Local Resilience Forums are responsible for local planning for floods. They include:

The police will lead the response during an actual emergency.

The National Asset Register

The National Asset Register records known flood rescue resources that could be called upon to support local resources in responding to major or wide area flood events. It contains contact details of competent flood rescue teams from both statutory agencies and the voluntary sector. It is maintained by the Fire and Rescue Service National Coordination Centre (FRSNCC) on behalf of Defra.

If you have any queries, including on the National Asset Register, and how you can become a part of it, please contact flood.rescue@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Flood awareness and safety at caravan and camping sites

Around 28% of caravan and camping sites in England and Wales are at flood risk from rivers and the sea, with over 2 thirds being at either significant or moderate risk. A government and industry working group has published a report on improving public flood safety at caravan and camping sites.

Appendix 2: managing the risks of floods and coastal change

This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.

Managing flood risks

The 'National flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy' sets out how flood and coastal erosion risk will be managed for England.

Local flood management strategies

Lead local flood authorities ( LLFAs) are developing local strategies for each of their areas. These will set out the flood risks from minor water courses, surface runoff and groundwater, and their plans to manage these risks.

These plans will often take into account sewer flooding, where LLFAs and water and sewerage companies are working together.

Local strategies:

must be consistent with the national strategy and use information from existing sources such as CFMPs and surface water management plans

should be developed in partnership with other relevant organisations and communities within the LLFA area

Flood risk management schemes can be funded through bids from government funds, through partnership funding or from local resources.

Catchment flood management plans

The Environment Agency, working with partner organisations, has developed 77 catchment flood management plans (CFMPs), covering the whole of England and Wales. The plans:

describe the flood risks over the catchments of larger rivers

set out policies on how these will be managed

Flood Risk Management Plans

Flood Risk Management Plans have to be produced to meet conditions in the EU Floods Directive. They must cover flooding from main rivers, the sea, reservoirs and local flood risk management in flood risk areas. They look at the risks of flooding and how these risks can be managed. Guidance has been produced on who is responsible for the plans and how to prepare them.

The plans use information from existing plans and strategies such as shoreline management plans, catchment flood management plans and local management strategies. They should also be coordinated with the River Basin Management Plans being produced under the EU Water Framework Directive. A joint consultation on draft Flood Risk Management Plans and draft River Basin Management Plans was launched on the 10 October 2014 . The flood risk management plans will be published by December 2015.

Managing coastal change

Coastal erosion can pose a threat to coastal communities, infrastructure and environments, including complete loss of homes and land.

The policy of successive governments is that there can be no right to compensation for damage from flooding or coastal erosion, as defences are provided under permissive powers and not duties.

Shoreline management plans

There are 22 shoreline management plans (SMPs) which set out the risks of flooding from the sea and coastal erosion in England and Wales and how these will be managed.

We've published guidance to help authorities prepare the next generation of SMPs.

See detailed information about the management of coastal erosion for England, including erosion risk mapping data.

Works to manage flood risks

Each financial year the Environment Agency prepares a medium-term plan which sets out the priorities across England for carrying out new flood defence work. An annual maintenance programme sets out where maintenance will be carried out on existing flood defences.

This includes using government and partnership funding to:

build new flood defences

maintain existing defences and watercourses

2014 to 2015 flood defence schemes

We publish maps showing where flood defence work is taking place.

Details about individual schemes or maintenance planned are available from the local Environment Agency office.

Protection for individual properties

People can take action to protect their own homes by using property-level protection (PLP). This type of protection is best used in situations where it is not viable to build community protection. This could be because of the nature of the catchment, the type of flood risk or simply that there are too few properties at risk. PLP schemes work best where there is a good degree of community co-operation and where people sign up to Environment Agency flood warnings.

Appendix 3: funding flood and coastal erosion risk management in England

This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.

Risk management authorities

Defra provides funding to risk management authorities to manage flood and coastal erosion risk in England. This includes funding to:

provide flood warnings

build new and improved flood and coastal defences

maintain existing structures

respond to flood incidents

The majority of funding is given as flood defence grant in aid to the Environment Agency.

Lead local flood authorities

Defra and Department for Communities and Local Government ( DCLG) provide funding directly to lead local flood authorities to help them with their new duties under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

For 2014 to 2015 lead local flood authorities will receive funding of £36 million, with:

£21 million distributed to authorities as part of the business rates retention system

£15 million provided direct to individual local authorities through the local services support grant. For 2015 to 2016 the direct grant will be £10 million. This reflects the fact that Local Authorities should already have made good progress in undertaking the duties introduced in 2010, for example preparing local strategies.

Local authorities also spend money from their revenue budget on their ongoing flood and coastal erosion risk management activities. For 2012 to 2013 recorded capital expenditure was £44 million (not including capital expenditure on highways, open spaces and climate change adaptation, which may have flood and coastal erosion risk management benefits).

Partnership funding for new and improved flood and coastal defence works

Partnership funding is a way of allocating capital funding to flood and coastal erosion risk management projects.

Instead of meeting the full costs of a limited number of schemes, the partnership funding approach means that government money can help meet the costs of any worthwhile scheme. The amount of money that government will allocate to a scheme is based on:

Partnership funding allows local communities to have a bigger say in what is done to protect them. The weighting within the system puts added emphasis on government helping those most at risk and living in the most deprived parts of the country.

The approach encourages cost savings and the use of other sources of funding to supplement money from government. As a result, more schemes are likely to go ahead than under the previous 'all or nothing' funding system. We are on track to bringing in up to £140 million in external co-funding for the 2011/12 to 2014/15 period.

We are changing the rules to allow business contributions to flood and coastal erosion works to be tax deductible. This means businesses that contribute to schemes pay less corporation or income tax. The new rules apply to contributions made from 1 January 2015.

The Environment Agency's principles for implementing flood and coastal resilience funding partnerships:

The 'Policy statement on partnership funding' describes how the new system works, including how to work out what amount of funding a project might receive from government. It also sets a number of rules to protect value for taxpayers' money.

An introductory guide to partnership funding explains the new approach and answers some common questions.

Pilot projects and research and development

Defra keeps a small amount of money each year to deliver pilot projects and fund research and development.

Small schemes pathfinder funding

You can apply for funding under this scheme if you represent a Flood Risk Management Authority in England.

It will look at efficiencies that may be available through appraising small flood/coastal erosion schemes as a 'package', rather than individually. Each project will carry out an appraisal of a 'package' of schemes and report to Defra. The lessons which are learnt from each project will be shared with the wider flood and coastal erosion risk management industry.

For more information or to apply please email SmallSchemes.Pathfinder@defra.gsi.gov.uk. You will need to send us your project bid by Friday 3 April 2015.

How funds are allocated
Funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England
How we measure value for taxpayers' money

The results of our investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management for April 2011 to March 2015 are being monitored using 6 outcome measures. These include:

More about outcome measures and the latest delivery update from the Environment Agency.

Post-approval evaluation

Below certain financial limits, the Environment Agency can:

approve business cases for specific flood and coastal erosion risk management projects

allocate grants

This includes projects that are led by local authorities and internal drainage boards. Defra closely monitors the projects and checks that they offer value for money.

Occasionally, Defra does more in-depth assessments, called post-approval evaluations. These take a sample of projects and consider whether the decisions taken by the Environment Agency are robust and based on sound evidence.

For more information, see:

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2010 to 2015 government policy: flooding and coastal change

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Serious flooding can happen at any time. In England, more than 5 million properties are at risk of flooding - that's nearly 1 in 6. There are also more than 250 homes at risk due to coastal erosion in the next 20 years.

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UK environmental accounts - Office for National Statistics

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Measures the contribution of the environment to the economy, the impacts the economy has on the environment, and society's responses to environmental issues.

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What's causing England's floods at the moment?

A combination of heavy rain, bitter storms, and coastal surges. Met Office figures show that January and December combined were the wettest since records began in 1910.

What are the different types of flooding?

* Tidal flooding comes from the sea and tidal rivers.

* Fluvial flooding from rivers bursting their banks or overflowing

* Groundwater flooding happens when the earth is saturated and can hold no more water

* Flash flooding is usually at its worst when drainage systems in urban areas are overwhelmed by sudden heavy rainfall, often worsened by the concreting over of large areas of soil and gardens that would otherwise have helped to absorb the water
Who's at risk of flooding?
As the government's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology notes, "the full gamut of flood manifestations - tidal, pluvial (flash), fluvial and groundwater - has been experienced over the last eight weeks."

The Royal Institute of British Architects estimates that 1.5% of the UK is at risk from direct flooding from the sea and about 7% of the country is likely to flood at least once a century from rivers. It says about 1.7m homes and 130,000 commercial properties are at risk from river or coastal flooding in England alone, and the effects of flooding and managing flood risk cost the country about £2.2bn a year, compared with the less than £1bn spent on flood protection and management.

Why do we build on flood plains?

Because it's easy, because people like to have houses there - and because we encourage the building of houses on floodplains for several reasons, principally cost and aesthetics.

Floodplains offer flat or flattish land that makes building streets and villages easy. Historically, people needed to be near rivers as that is where they got their water from, and towns and cities have grown up around them. Nowadays, builders like floodplains because they can acquire large cheap plots of level land.
Why don't we build more defences?

Think of the alternative: building on hills is not as easy, the houses on hills are less accessible so people may not like them, and because houses on hills are more visible to people in the surrounding area they are much more vulnerable to objections in the planning permission process.

There is no legal bar, and no national regulations, to prevent building on floodplains. And the builders who put up new homes in these areas bear none of the subsequent cost - they have long gone by the time the householders and their insurers are inundated.

Old-style flood defences made up of seawalls and concrete walls inland have gradually been recognised as ineffective.
Why can't we store more water in the uplands?

Our habit of building on floodplains and concreting over large areas of land for housing has inhibited the ability of the landscape to absorb water. Allowing some areas to flood, usually farmland, has been a way of managing flooding for centuries, and flood defence experts are arguing for more use of such natural defences rather than simply trying to build walls to keep water out.

The Environment Agency's plan for protecting the UK is called Making Space for Water.
What difference would dredging the rivers make to the Somerset levels?

The National Trust's Holnicote Estate near Minehead, Somerset Photograph: /Guim

We do in most winters: it's called snow. That is why spring is often worse for flooding than winter. If the snow melts gradually, this can cause mild flooding, while sudden thaws can lead to more serious problems. But this year's unusually warm temperatures have meant less snow and the unusually heavy rainfall has swept across the south and west, so the full brunt of that rain has been felt at once.

What effect is climate change having on flooding in the UK?

Bear in mind also that the Somerset Levels, one of the worst affected areas, naturally act as a "sponge" in absorbing water - they were marshes until drained. That's where water is naturally stored in the landscape.
What happens to the crops that have been flooded? Will there be an impact on food prices?

Perhaps not much. Dredging can help where rivers are too silted up to transport water downstream. But dredging tidal rivers is an ongoing process because silt is redeposited on every tide, and is very costly as a result. Few communities are willing to bear that cost themselves. Widening and deepening rivers also means that more of the immediately surrounding area may be made prone to flooding, so while some people may benefit others will lose out.
When was the UK last so flooded and pounded by the sea?

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A cyclist goes over a bridge where locals have put up a sign 'Stop the Flooding - Dredge the Rivers" on the River Parrett, at Barrow Mump, in Somerset, England. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

The Met Office has said climate change is a factor in the current floods, and projections show that this effect is only going to get worse. The world's, and the UK's, greenhouse gas emissions are rising. The Committee on Climate Change has warned that we are not doing enough to adapt to the effects of a warming climate.

Are we facing a wave of rats in people's homes because of the floods?

Professor Adam Scaife from the Met Office says "we do expect that winter rainfall is likely to increase in the future [as temperature rise]" because "as the air warms it can hold more water."

Any cropland flooded will be seriously affected - most of the crop is likely to be lost. Farmers may be able to make up some of the damage by replanting a different crop later in the spring when the water has subsided. But while this is bad news for the farmers involved, it is unlikely to have a dramatic effect on food prices because so much of the UK's food is imported.

The combination of a high tide, a tidal surge in the North Sea, heavy rain and a lack of warning systems led to the UK's worst flooding event in modern times, in January 1953. More than 300 lives were lost on land, and more than 200 drowned at sea. It was caused by the combination of a seasonal high tide, a storm, and an extensive area of low pressure over the North Sea that sucked seawaters to higher levels than normal.

When the storm broke, the east coast from Scotland to Kent was badly affected. Waters spread as far as ten miles inland. That event led to the building of the Thames Barrier in the 1960s and 1970s, then the biggest single engineering project the UK had undertaken. There appears little appetite for major engineering projects today, however.

Are the elderly facing worse suffering, because of the damp?

The dirty secret of flooding is sewage. Under heavy rainfall, the sewage system is overwhelmed. This is not just a consequence of the UK's sewerage systems: all sewers are designed to use water and gravity to flush dirty water away, and rainfall that is heavy enough will displace the dirty water and bring it to the surface.

That is the most unpleasant problem for householders in any flood, and the greatest threat to health after the physical threats of being washed away or hit by falling debris.
How does this compare with the floods of 2003 and 2007?

Some experts argue that sewage systems, particularly along the Thames, should be updated to deal with the increasingly heavy volumes of rain likely under climate change.

Rats are displaced from their normal habitats during flooding, just like any other animal, and they seek areas where they can survive. When people are driven out of their homes, the rats can take up residence. But this should be a temporary problem: when the waters have subsided, and people's homes are rehabilitated, rats will return to their usual habitats.

During floods, the most vulnerable groups are those that are always most vulnerable: the very young, the very old, the unwell, and people with disabilities. This is for various reasons: the care of very young and old people must be prioritised because of the influx of sewage that inevitably follows the flooding of homes. People with disabilities or who are unwell, particularly those living alone, may find it difficult to move to higher floors or to leave their homes and can become trapped.

When homes are rehabilitated after flooding, particular care must be taken to clean up the sewage-damaged rooms, furniture and household goods - it may be best to throw out as much as possible, and replastering and repainting, new floors and other rehabilitation will also be necessary. Insurance companies should help with this. The worst thing is to try to do all this on the cheap, potentially leaving people and their property prone to further ongoing problems.

The seriousness of any flood is always subjective - it is a devastating experience for anyone, and if you are affected, it is little comfort to think that the same thing happened to others a few years before.
Should people be selling homes on low-lying land and seafronts in the south west?

The 2003 floods mainly affected the south of England and in 2007 the Midlands were badly hit. Other areas affected by flooding in recent years include Cumbria and Cornwall.
Is Glastonbury still on?
The UK is prone to wet weather, probably increasingly because of climate change, and as a densely populated island it is almost inevitable that heavy rainfall over any area will cause problems.
What is the economic cost of this year's floods?
What do forecasts suggest?
One lesson of previous floods is that hundreds of affected people were still left in temporary accommodation months afterwards. The government has promised this time that local authorities will be able to reclaim the money they spend on this year's floods. Getting people back into their properly rehabilitated homes as soon as possible must be a priority.
How long will the floods continue for?

Met Office record rainfall graphs - January 2013 versus January 2014 Photograph: /Met Office

If and when it does stop raining, how long will it take for the floodwaters to recede?
In recent years, serious floods have struck all over the UK, from Cumbria to Cornwall. Britain is an island, and so tidal surges and storms are inevitable around the long coastline. It is also densely populated, so inland flooding - which can often be the result of local geography - affects large populations.

A spokesman for the festival said this year's event will not be affected.

The cost could hit £1bn, according to insurance experts contacted by the Guardian.

More storms are forecast in the coming days.

We don't know.

The effects of flooding will certainly continue to be felt for weeks, even if the rains were to stop tomorrow (which is not the forecast). In the Thames-flooded areas, the water is likely to subside more quickly as the river transports most of the excess to the sea.

But in another of the worst affected areas, the Somerset levels, water is likely to hang around for much longer, because the area is naturally marshy and some is under sea level, so there are fewer places for the excess water to go and the saturated ground cannot hold any more.

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England's floods - everything you need to know

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What's causing England's floods at the moment? A combination of heavy rain, bitter storms, and coastal surges. Met Office figures show that January and December combined were the wettest since records began in 1910. What are the different types of flooding? * Tidal flooding comes from the sea and tidal rivers.

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We work to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development.

Who we are

We were established in 1996 to protect and improve the environment. We have around 10,600 employees. Our head office is in Bristol and we have another office in London. We have offices across England, divided into 14 areas listed below. See a map of our areas.

North

North East
Cumbria and Lancashire
Yorkshire
Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire

West

Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire
East Midlands
West Midlands
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Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

South East

East Anglia
Thames
Hertfordshire and North London
Kent, South London and East Sussex
Solent and South Downs

Responsibilities

Within England we're responsible for:

regulating major industry and waste

treatment of contaminated land

water quality and resources

fisheries

inland river, estuary and harbour navigations

conservation and ecology

We are also responsible for managing the risk of flooding from main rivers, reservoirs, estuaries and the sea.

Lead local flood authorities ( LLFAs) are responsible for managing the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses and lead on community recovery.

More detail about who is responsible for managing flood risks.

Priorities

Our priorities are to:

work with businesses and other organisations to manage the use of resources

increase the resilience of people, property and businesses to the risks of flooding and coastal erosion

protect and improving water, land and biodiversity

improve the way we work as a regulator to protect people and the environment and support sustainable growth

Read more about Environment Agency: EA2025 creating a better place

Regional flood and coastal committees

The RFCCs were set up by the Environment Agency under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. They bring together members appointed by LLFAs and independent members with relevant experience for 3 purposes:

to ensure there are coherent plans for identifying, communicating and managing flood and coastal erosion risks across catchments and shorelines

to encourage efficient, targeted and risk-based investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management that represents value for money and benefits local communities

to provide a link between the Environment Agency, LLFAs, other risk management authorities, and other relevant bodies to build understanding of flood and coastal erosion risks in its area

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We work to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development.

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The London smog and 1956 Clean Air Act | Friends of the Earth

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How the killer London smog of 1952 led to laws that helped clean up our polluted air. And why it's time for a new Clean Air Act.

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An Act to set a target for the year 2050 for the reduction of targeted greenhouse gas emissions; to provide for a system of carbon budgeting; to establish a Committee on Climate Change; to confer powers to establish trading schemes for the purpose of limiting greenhouse gas emissions or encouraging

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The UK's energy networks are not ready for a surge in electric cars and solar panels that is coming within the next few years, according to a report.

Clusters of the battery powered cars could result in 1% of the UK experiencing unplanned drops in voltage - potentially damaging electronic equipment - without action by 2020, the Green Alliance said.

The thinktank warned that as few as six electric vehicles located near one another, most likely in an affluent neighbourhood, could lead to such "brownouts".

Charging one car requires a similar amount of electricity as a typical home uses in three days, and simultaneous demand at a local level could damage networks without costly reinforcements.

Ministers also recently called on electric car owners to ensure they are not charging at times of peak energy demand.

Network operators want people to use smart chargers, which can defer when cars are topped up, but most of the 12,000-plus charging points in the UK are "dumb", with smart technology largely only used in pilot projects.

The Green Alliance said that by 2025 up to 700,000 electricity users could suffer blackouts due to a lack of non-smart chargers.

"The government should say all chargers from now on must be smart. Once they're in, it's very expensive to retrofit them," said Dustin Benton, the author of the report.

Distribution network operators, who connect the national grid at a local level to homes and businesses, fear clustering of electric cars, but say such hotspots have not yet become a serious problem for their infrastructure.

However, the Green Alliance noted that electric car sales were up 56% last year on 2015 figures, and said falling costs would drive a rapid uptake.

The thinktank predicted a similar growth in the next few years in the installation of solar panels, which are already disrupting the energy system. Falling solar power prices mean that by 2020 it will make economic sense for commercial building owners to install solar even without subsidies, the report said.

The combination of solar and household batteries such as Tesla's Powerwall could result in houses being able to supply their own electricity independently for months at a time by 2025, it added.

While 850,000 homes in the UK have solar panels, few have installed batteries - but that could change with products launched by one of the big six energy companies. E.ON said on Wednesday that it would begin selling battery and solar packages from £7,500, arguing the combination of the two would elevate solar "to the next level".

The Green Alliance said it thought electric cars and solar would soon be viable without subsidy, which showed the government would no longer be able constrain them - meaning it was vital action was taken now to manage their impact.

This impact could include damage to power networks from electric car charging or solar unable to connect to the grid because of bottlenecks. That in turn could trigger "emergency policymaking", which Benton said would be bad for investment.

The thinktank made several recommendations, including a proposal for a new independent system designer, separate from National Grid, to manage the integration of small-scale energy into the wider electricity supply network. "We need to actively govern how we use these technologies," said Benton.

A National Grid spokesman said: "Growing use of solar power and electric cars will change the way the energy system is managed, but National Grid has been consistently dealing with evolution in the energy sector for decades, and these latest changes also present great opportunities.

"For example, electric vehicles can be used to help feed energy back into the system at key times, while solar power will play a crucial role in providing clean energy as coal-generated power stops being used."

The body representing distribution network operators said it was already trialling innovative new technologies to more actively manage its members' networks.

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UK unprepared for surge in electric car use, thinktank warns

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The UK's energy networks are not ready for a surge in electric cars and solar panels that is coming within the next few years, according to a report. Clusters of the battery powered cars could result in 1% of the UK experiencing unplanned drops in voltage - potentially damaging electronic equipment - without action by 2020, the Green Alliance said.

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What response has there been to UK environmental disasters since 1952?

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What response has there been to UK environmental disasters since 1952?

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UK Environmental Accounts - Office for National Statistics

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Environmental accounts show how the environment contributes to the economy, the impacts that the economy has on the environment, and how society responds to environmental issues.