eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

Fraction of urban land cover [%]
Figure 2.4: Fraction of urban land cover in the London region.
Figure 2.4 shows the fraction of urban land cover in the London region. Urban parks such as
Richmond Park are visible as areas of very low urban fractions. The land cover for the model
domain is analysed further in Chapter 3 and maps of the major rural land cover types are
presented.
Key environmental impacts that have been noted for London in a number of different studies
(LCCP 2002; Hunt 2005; West et al. 2005; Wilby et al. 2006, London Climate Change
Adaptation 2008) are:
• Flood risk (London is vulnerable to 3 types of flooding, the inundation of floodplains by
river water, local flooding when the drainage network is overwhelmed by intense rainfall,
and by tidal surges in the Thames. Climate change could adversely affect all three with
the latter leading to more frequent operation of the Thames Barrier).
• Heat waves
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