Britons urged to stockpile food amid 'unprecedented' extreme weather fears

Thank you for subscribing!

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle issued the stark warning as Britain braces for the 'largest El Nino event since 19th century'

Britons have been urged to stockpile food amid fears that "unprecedented" extreme weather could batter the country.

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle warned households to keep supplies at home as the UK prepares for an increased risk of national weather emergencies.

Her warning comes as an extraordinary El Nino event is forecast to develop in the coming months, bringing the prospect of wetter winters and more powerful storms to Britain.

The weather phenomenon occurs when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise at least 0.5C above the long-term average.

Temperatures are forecast to climb more than 3C above average during the coming months.

The Met Office said the developing El Nino could become "the largest since the 19th century".

While the phenomenon can increase the risk of drought across the tropics, southern Africa and eastern Australia, its effects are expected to be very different in Britain.

Northwestern Europe, including the UK, is likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions during the coming autumn and early winter.

Ms Eagle has now urged households to prepare themselves for the possibility of severe weather disrupting everyday life.

She told The Guardian: “We’re about to experience probably the largest El Nino that has ever been seen, and that will lead to drier summers, wetter winters, with more extreme storms in this country.

“It will do a lot more damage in Asia with flooding, and therefore I think that we need to take it seriously.

“If you’ve got a store of a bit of food that can keep you going for a while before the emergency services can get to you, you’re going to be a lot better off than if you haven’t.

WEATHER - READ THE LATEST:

“So some of it is that kind of preparation for just being a bit more resilient.”

Scientists have also sounded the alarm over the potentially record-breaking weather event.

Professor Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical hazards at University College London, warned last month that scientific forecasts suggested the world was in for "one hell of a ride".

He said: “The astonishing and unprecedented amount of heat building across the eastern Pacific Ocean is all but certain to make this the most powerful El Nino in living memory – possibly even the biggest in several centuries.”

The Environment Secretary's intervention comes just weeks after Downing Street called on the public to take "small but important steps" to safeguard access to water, electricity and mobile phone connectivity in the event of an emergency.

The Government also announced a national public awareness campaign designed to help households prepare for crises ranging from extreme weather to cyber-attacks.

Ministers warned such emergencies could disrupt access to "power, water, phone signal or local shops to get food".

Among the threats identified by the Government are foreign powers interfering in elections and potential cyber-attacks targeting data systems, water infrastructure and police networks.