UK launch flood taskforce to prepare for extreme winter weather

The government has launched a new taskforce to respond to extreme weather, including the risk of flooding this winter.

After a summer of record breaking temperatures, the group will meet this week to assess how prepared the UK is for what the Met Office has described as the "heightened potential" for wet, windy, stormy weather in the coming months.

"We're facing extreme weather, with flood and drought intertwined but the government is taking decisive action," Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Minister Emma Hardy said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

The Environment Agency has warned approximately 6.3 million homes and businesses in England remain at risk of flooding.

Defra will host the first meeting on Wednesday, bringing together the Met Office, Environment Agency and mayoral authorities as well as the farming, water and insurance industries.

Hardy said: "This will put communities and businesses at the heart of our work and will make sure the UK is ready for whatever the weather brings next."

The government has committed at least £10.5 billion up to 2036 to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure from the growing threat of flooding.

The Met Office has said the current seasonal outlook suggests an increased likelihood of wetter than average conditions during autumn, in part due to the El Niño weather event.

It has warned that this year's iteration of the climate phenomenon is likely to be the strongest in living memory, with the peak not expected until the end of the year.

The Environment Agency has said that while flooding is not guaranteed, the odds of repeated storms, prolonged rain and saturated catchments are higher than average this winter.

It has urged households to check their flood risk, sign up to alerts and make a flood plan to prepare for any emergencies.

The warnings follow 12 months of extreme weather across the UK, with the summer of 2026 the country's hottest on record.

Last winter brought four named storms to the UK - Bram, Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra - and several significant flooding events, with the Met Office reporting that England received 42% more rainfall than its winter average.