LETTER : Freeze points to need for climate action

Sir: Congratulations to Nicholas Schoon for his timely reminder of the persistence of global warming despite the freeze (4 January).

The Department of the Environment's Review of the Potential Effects of Climate Change in the UK is forthright in its assessments. It warns that land below the five-metre contour will be at risk due to rising sea levels and the increased force and incidence of severe storms.

Unless drastic action is planned now, huge areas of Grade 1 agricultural land in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire will suffer inundation and salination.

Professor PETER F SMITH

Royal Institute of British Architects

London W1