Planning for the future - Environment

Climate change is real and is happening now, with over 99% of climate scientists worldwide identifying that humans have directly caused the warming we have seen over the past century.

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40.3°C

The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was in 2022

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Emissions

in the borough. 34% - domestic, 33% - transport, 16% - industry, 7% - commercial, 10% - other

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2019

Wigan Council declared a climate emergency

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3rd Oct 2022

The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh formally declared a National Nature Reserve (NNR)

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Over 1,800

hectares of the borough (around 10%) is designated for wildlife protection

Key facts

  • The Earth is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the 1800s, with 17 of the 18 warmest years on record having taken place since 2001.
  • The Paris Climate Agreement is an international treaty that aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C but this is likely to be reached by 2026.
  • On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, the temperature could increase by as much as 4.4°C by the end of the century.
  • House sparrows, hedgehogs and some types of bees are amongst the species that have declined significantly in number in the UK since the 1970s.

© Wigan Council