Aberystwyth is strategically placed near to the headwaters of major British rivers

Dr John Pomeroy

The programme co-ordinator in the university's Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Dr John Pomeroy, believes Aberystwyth is an ideal location to study water.

"Besides its coastal location, Aberystwyth is strategically placed near to the headwaters of major British rivers such as the Severn and Wye in the Cambrian Mountains," he said.

The Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia predicts global sea level rises of between 12cm and 67cm by 2050.

Parts of East Anglia as well as parts of the south east of England could end up under water.

The threat of rising sea levels is compounded by the fact that the UK is gradually tilting. The south east of the country is sinking while the north west is rising.

With holding back the sea a notoriously expensive business, eventually some low-lying coastal areas will probably have to be abandoned.

Climate change

The recent floods and storms in the UK could also be part of a pattern of more extreme weather occurring as a result of climate change.

But the unit's Prof Phil Jones stresses that, as a single event, the floods do not have much significance. Instead long term trends have to be studied.

Long-term studies so far had suggested that winter precipitation could increase by more than 20% by the 2080s.

By contrast, in summer, central and southern parts of the UK could be much drier than now, with up to 18% less rainfall.

Northern England and Scotland were likely to experience the double whammy of both wetter summers and wetter winters.

With hotter weather, the demand for water would increase significantly - as would evaporation from reservoirs.

As a result droughts, already a problem in the south during the summers, were likely to become more severe.