Domain review
Environment and Climate
Measures the environmental and climate conditions the country depends on.
Environment and Climate is currently rated Strained. The domain score is driven primarily by Bathing water quality, Storm overflow spill duration (England) and Climate adaptation readiness. Data confidence is medium across its component metrics.
Component indicators
Environment and Climate — Metrics
Storm overflow spill duration (England)
2024
Verified official value from Environment Agency (storm overflow spill duration, England), accessed 2026-06-13.
Evidence file
Storm overflow spill duration (England)
Latest reading
2024
Scoring breakdown
Source
Event Duration Monitoring, storm overflow annual returns
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Reliability
- medium
Provenance
- Provider
- Environment Agency
- Series ID
- storm overflow spill duration, England
- Frequency
- annual
- Accessed
- 13 June 2026
Known weakness
Event Duration Monitors have increased coverage over time, meaning rising totals may partly reflect improved monitoring rather than worsening environmental performance.
Notes
Verified official value from Environment Agency (storm overflow spill duration, England), accessed 2026-06-13.
Climate adaptation readiness
2023
Seed value. Demonstration dataset. This build uses seed data to demonstrate the model. Do not cite figures until official source ingestion is complete.
Evidence file
Climate adaptation readiness
Latest reading
2023
Scoring breakdown
Source
Progress in adapting to climate change reports
- Update frequency
- Biennial
- Reliability
- medium
Provenance
Seed value — not yet sourced from official data.
Known weakness
CCC assessments are qualitative expert judgements rather than quantitative outcomes; biennial frequency means conditions can deteriorate significantly between reports.
Notes
Seed value. Demonstration dataset. This build uses seed data to demonstrate the model. Do not cite figures until official source ingestion is complete.
Data caveat
Demonstration dataset. Do not cite figures until official source ingestion is complete.
Greenhouse-gas emissions
2024
Verified official value from Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (desnz_ghg), accessed 2026-06-14.
Evidence file
Greenhouse-gas emissions
Latest reading
2024
Scoring breakdown
Source
UK greenhouse gas emissions statistics
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Reliability
- high
Provenance
- Provider
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Series ID
- desnz_ghg
- Frequency
- Annual
- Accessed
- 14 June 2026
Known weakness
UK territorial basis excludes consumption/imported emissions and treats aviation and shipping separately; figures are revised each year and final data lags by about 14 months.
Notes
Verified official value from Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (desnz_ghg), accessed 2026-06-14.
Air pollution (PM2.5)
2024
Verified official value from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra_air_quality), accessed 2026-06-14.
Evidence file
Air pollution (PM2.5)
Latest reading
2024
Scoring breakdown
Source
Air quality statistics (population-weighted PM2.5)
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Reliability
- high
Provenance
- Provider
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Series ID
- defra_air_quality
- Frequency
- Annual
- Accessed
- 14 June 2026
Known weakness
England, from DEFRA's modelled population-weighted PCM data; concentrations are weather-sensitive year to year and the statutory 10 micrograms target is assessed on a three-year mean.
Notes
Verified official value from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra_air_quality), accessed 2026-06-14.
Bathing water quality
2024
Verified official value from Environment Agency (ea_bathing_water), accessed 2026-06-14.
Evidence file
Bathing water quality
Latest reading
2024
Scoring breakdown
Source
Bathing water quality classifications
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Reliability
- high
Provenance
- Provider
- Environment Agency
- Series ID
- ea_bathing_water
- Frequency
- Annual
- Accessed
- 14 June 2026
Known weakness
England; the current four-class system began in 2015 (no comparable earlier data), the 2020 season was cancelled for COVID, and the 2024 fall partly reflects 27 newly designated, often-poorer river sites.
Notes
Verified official value from Environment Agency (ea_bathing_water), accessed 2026-06-14.
Historical values
Metric trends
Historical values
Storm overflow spill duration (England)
Latest
3.61million hours of monitored spills per yearStorm overflow spill duration (England) — million hours of monitored spills per year — reported values, not stress scores.
Historical values
Climate adaptation readiness
Latest
34.8% CCC adaptation outcomes with credible plansClimate adaptation readiness — % CCC adaptation outcomes with credible plans — reported values, not stress scores.
Historical values
Greenhouse-gas emissions
Latest
373MtCO2e (territorial, net)Greenhouse-gas emissions — MtCO2e (territorial, net) — reported values, not stress scores.
Historical values
Air pollution (PM2.5)
Latest
7.06micrograms per cubic metre (population-weighted)Air pollution (PM2.5) — micrograms per cubic metre (population-weighted) — reported values, not stress scores.
Historical values
Bathing water quality
Latest
85% of bathing waters rated Excellent or GoodBathing water quality — % of bathing waters rated Excellent or Good — reported values, not stress scores.
Data provenance
Sources for this domain
| Organisation | Dataset | Type | Frequency | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environment Agency | Event Duration Monitoring, storm overflow annual returns | Administrative | Annual | Source ↗ |
| Climate Change Committee | Progress in adapting to climate change reports | Independent | Biennial | Source ↗ |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | UK greenhouse gas emissions statistics | Official | Annual | Source ↗ |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Air quality statistics (population-weighted PM2.5) | Official | Annual | Source ↗ |
| Environment Agency | Bathing water quality classifications | Official | Annual | Source ↗ |
How the Environment and Climate domain is scored
The domain score is the median of the 5 component metric stress scores. Using the median reduces sensitivity to a single anomalous metric.
Each metric stress score is calculated as:
metric_stress = clamp(0.6 × level_score + 0.3 × trend_score + 0.1 × volatility_score, 0, 100)The Environment and Climate domain carries a weight of 5% in the national index. Full methodology: methodology page.
Sensitivity analysis
What would move this domain?
The Environment and Climate domain score is most sensitive to its two highest-stress indicators. Meaningful improvement in either of the following metrics would be the most direct path to improving the domain score:
- 82
Bathing water quality
Share of designated bathing waters classified Excellent or Good, a tangible measure of water-environment quality.
- 62
Storm overflow spill duration (England)
Total hours of storm overflow discharges from monitored assets in England per year, measuring the scale of sewage pollution of rivers and coastal waters.