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What If...?

What If... My Home Town Drowns?

Duration: 28 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Radio Wales MWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio Wales FM

The first in a series that looks at climate change in a challenging way. How might Wales look in 50 years from now? Lizzie Daly, a biologist from Cardiff, interviews leading experts on issues that are relevant to all of us. We start with weather and landscape asking the experts to add a touch of imagination to their knowledge and a little fortune-telling to their science and give us a picture of what life could be like on a warmer planet.

So, "What if ....My Home Town Drowns? We've experienced the floods, we know the sea level is rising, but what does this mean for communities in Wales? Lizzie's home town is Cardiff and we discover from Erin Owain of Acclimatise and Martin Buckle from the Welsh Governments new committee on floods and coastal erosion that we need to take action in order to face the changes.

Stuart Eves from Fairbourne is often quoted in the press about the plight of Fairbourne, but Lizzie delves into his fears about the consequences of doing nothing. Some say that we've always had bad weather, storms and floods, and indeed we have, as Sarah Davies, an expert in past weather tells us, but she explains why today is different. Siwan Davies a climate change expert goes further, explaining the current trends and consequences of the paths we choose, praising in particular the young people who have taken to protesting.

The last words in this first episode do go to the activists, Adam, Siân and Haf - the school protestors and followers of Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion, and Friends of the Earth, the voices of which, in their different ways, might make a difference in an uncertain future. Show less

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