This is due to a rare alignment of the sun, moon and earth, which happens every 19 years. Tomorrow morning will see the highest astronomical tide level in 25 years, which could strain the current flood defences in place, particularly if adverse weather conditions should coincide with the event.

Last year during an overlap of high tides and low barometric pressure, flood defences were exceeded at many locations in Wales including Amroth (pictured), Aberystwyth and Penarth.

As this article was written, Wales had ten flood alerts, and a further three that had been upgraded to flood warnings in place, with roads being closed this morning amid fears of defences being overtopped. It is thought that the area most at risk is the stretch of coast from The Gower through to the Wye Estuary. Though the high tide peak will be tomorrow morning (Saturday 21^st of February) the threat will not be over, as Britain could be expecting a further five supertides this year due to the rare planetary alignment.

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It is only since the ‘supermoon’ was linked with the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that it has become of public interest. Before this, the term was ‘Perigean New Moon’ an event that occurs when the moon is at its closest point to the earths orbit (making it 50,000 km closer to earth) coinciding with a full moon, making the moon appear much larger and brighter.

Supermoons cause larger tides of up to an inch, which may not seem much, but when overlapped with extreme weather events can lead to floods. This week has seen Wales issued with three flood alerts – the Carmarthenshire Coast, the Usk Estuary and the Wye
Estuary. Could the supermoon on 8th of September have been an input?

Supermoons are followed by ‘King Tides’ (or Perigean Spring tides) where there is an increase in the gravitational pull the moon has on the earths tides due to its closer proximity. However, experts say this is no cause for concern as it is a natural phenomena that has always occurred.

Unfortunately, the supermoon on the 8th of September will be the final supermoon of this year, although, it is an annual occurrence and we can get our binoculars and cameras ready to see the next supermoon in September 2015.

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Here in the UK our summers are getting warmer and drier. Whereas many of us may see this as a benefit, this could in fact be evidence of the extreme weather patterns expected from a warming climate. Unfortunately, extreme weather patterns will not just bring us the advantage of warm summers – we could also expect heat waves and droughts in summers, and in winter we should brace ourselves for more intense and more frequent rainfall, flash floods storms and hurricanes.

Last winter Wales witnessed two of the most devastating storms to hit our coastlines in decades, thousands of lives were affected, hundreds of homes and businesses flooded and millions of pounds of damage caused. The cost of the damage is estimated to be around £11million, with £8 million of damage to coastal defences (NRW, 2014). And we are not just vulnerable to coastal flooding – in 2012 river flooding caused overwhelming damage for communities in Aberystwyth, St Asaph and villages in Ceredigion. Unfortunately, these devastating experiences in recent years are only expected to become more frequent and bigger in scale, particularly as approximately 60% of Wales’ population is situated on coastal fringes, in lowland areas  and on valley floors, many of which lie below the high tide level (Assembly Wales, 2011).

Although little can be done to reverse the effects caused by human activity in recent years , more is being done now to mitigate future climate change. Minimising energy consumption in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is vital. More emphasis is being put on better insulation for homes to reduce energy costs, and renewable energy is more widespread, with more wind farms being erected, solar power panels included in new homes and larger companies looking into wave power. More effort is being put into promoting fuel efficient eco cars, or car use is being discouraged completely through better public transport, congestion charges in cities and supporting local communities in order to reduce the need to travel for work, shopping or other services.

Rising sea level and flooding has also led to better use of land and more sensible and sustainable developments being built, restoring derelict industries and buildings, and building with energy efficient designs. It is now more important than ever to ensure new buildings are not built in flood zones, with flood consequence assessments becoming essential for new development.

It is also crucial that better education and awareness is raised so that future generations are capable of managing the flooding and sea level rise expected in the years to come.

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