A wildfire warning system may need to be developed in the next 10 years, according to the City of York Council’s environment executive.
Cllr Jenny Kent, who shares the brief with Cllr Kate Ravilious, spoke about biodiversity and changing weather as Labour revealed its plan for its term in office on September 12.
A poor air quality warning system is part of Cllr Kent and Cllr Ravilious’ plans to increase public awareness when pollution is particularly bad.
But Cllr Kent also spoke about other measures that may need to be actioned to tackle changing weather.
“Biodiversity as a whole, having a flourishing biodiverse environment, is key in terms of protecting those who are going to be most vulnerable from extreme weather events,” she said.
“Having a green shield which reduces reflective heat and causes urban cooling and improves air quality is vital for all of us.”
Wildfires are another challenge the city has to be prepared for, according to Cllr Kent.
She said: “We’re told by experts that this is very likely to be occurring upwind over the next 10 years.
“That’s not scaremongering.
“I feel that’s really positive because that’s not putting our heads in the sand and it’s not pretending it’s not going to happen.”
Hottest day ever
Meanwhile, an audit and governance committee report published ahead of its September 12 meeting, reads: “As a local authority, York continues to strengthen its climate resilience.”
It went on: “York experienced the hottest day ever recorded at 38°C.
“This exceeded estimates for the hottest summer day of 35.6C if global average temperatures increase 2C above pre-industrial levels, demonstrating the urgency of action.
“Across Yorkshire and Humber, unprecedented summer heatwaves had temperatures rising above 40C.
“During the heatwaves, the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum managed regional risks in line with multi-agency incident management and the council stood up silver command.
“Issues included fires in rural areas threatening isolated homes and farms, overhead electric cable disruption and road tarmac melting causing travel disruption.
“During the July 2022 heatwave, West Offices suffered an electrical malfunction from overheating causing the sprinklers to activate leading to additional disruption of council services.
“Increased frequency of adverse weather events as a result of the changing climate brings multiple impacts that every council service will need to address.
“To prepare for increases in global temperatures and the impact it brings locally and to council services requires a shift in how the council responds, learning from the council’s well-rehearsed response to flooding, to prepare the city for adverse weather by putting in place controls to strengthen the city’s resilience.”