Risk of Flooding from Surface Water: UK Flood Extents and Depths Under Climate Change

A probabilistic geospatial dataset models the risk of surface water flooding across the UK, incorporating climate change projections for the 2050s. It includes separate layers for flood extents and depths exceeding thresholds of 0m, 0.2m, 0.3m, 0.6m, 0.9m, and 1.2m. The data is produced by the Environment Agency using national and local modelling, with risk categorized into high, medium, and low annual likelihood bands.

Use Cases

• Model flood hazard risk based on depth thresholds and annual likelihood bands.
• Plan urban development and infrastructure projects using climate-adjusted flood extents.
• Assess property-level vulnerability based on probabilistic flood depth and extent data.
• Validate local flood models against national-scale probabilistic risk assessments.

Strengths

• Includes six distinct depth thresholds (0m, 0.2m, 0.3m, 0.6m, 0.9m, 1.2m) for granular analysis.
• Integrates national modelling with compatible local data from lead local flood authorities.
• Applies specific climate change allowances for the 2050s epoch based on UKCP18 RCP 8.5 projections.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to uk_data sources and modelling assumptions.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency

Collection Method

Produced using national scale modelling enhanced with locally produced modelling from lead local flood authorities (LLFAs).

Time Range

Climate change projections for the 2050s epoch (2040-2060).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-06 08:17:39.793051; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom