Key natural hazards and issues in this study area: The North Yorkshire coast currently erodes at an average of 9cm year where the geology is predominantly shale and 28cm year where the geology is glacial drift. The coast is particularly susceptible to landslips. At present in the North Yorkshire region sea levels and mean annual temperatures are rising. Mean sea levels along the coast have risen at rates of between 1.5mm and 3.6mm per year over the last 80 years. Long-term temperature records show that the 1990s were the warmest decade since the 19th Century. Evidence also suggests that winters in the 1990s were wetter than ever before, for example there was a threefold increase in the number of “wet” winter days at Whitby during the 1990s. The coastal zone is vulnerable to rising sea levels and changing patterns of tidal flooding and coastal erosion.

Location: North Yorkshire is located on the north-east coast of England, facing the North Sea.