An example of this is the need to consider how aircraft using the airport will be able to perform in higher temperatures; hot weather generally means aircraft need more of the runway to take off. This is something that we have looked closely at in our masterplan development process.

Aspects of our proposals that could cause effects

Climate change has the potential to have a direct effect on the airport (for example, very high rainfall filling drainage structures) to exacerbate environmental effects identified in other sections of this document and to affect the measures put in place to reduce effects on the environment (for example, migration of species from newly created habitats).

Based on climate change projections for the UK provided by the Met Office, we have reviewed which parts of the airport might be affected by a changed climate and the measures needed to ensure that the airport retains its resilience to these projected changes.

A summary of the effects reported in the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR)

The assessment has considered a range of different climate changes; higher average temperatures and more heatwave events, reduced summer rainfall, more frequent intense rainfall events; potentially increased extreme wind and storm events; and fewer extreme cold events.

If the airport design did not consider climate change there would be a greater chance of effects such as rainfall filling drainage, increased flooding, overheating in buildings and public spaces, failure of equipment in extreme temperatures, water shortages, operational disruption from storm events, and alterations to affected or new landscapes.

There are no significant effects following the assessment of climate change impacts on the construction and operational phases of the Project. This is because all relevant and implementable environmental measures have been embedded into the Project design.