South London councils in Sutton and Kingston have joined with flooding tech providers Aquasition to introduce an early warning system designed to help deal with future flooding in their boroughs.

The move comes as part of the South London Partnership InnOvaTe Project that aims to monitor flooding risks and water levels and help authorities mitigate the impact of floods in the region.

Kingston in particular has seen numerous instances of flooding in the town centre in recent years, and both Kingston and Sutton councils hope that the new technology, which relies on sophisticated sensors, will help them manage any future floods.

"The sensors to be installed, which, along with an email early warning notification, will allow both councils to monitor rising water levels and alert our drainage contractors to respond to any surface water flooding," a spokesperson for Sutton council said.

"The areas within Kingston Town Centre that will benefit from this scheme include Richmond Road Bridge, Seven Kings Way, Kingston Road Bridge, London Road, Coombe Road Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Road," they added.

Councillor Tim Cobbett, Deputy Leader of Kingston Council, said:

"These measures will provide much needed confidence to local businesses that the council has put in measures to reduce the risk of road closure disruption caused by surface water flooding.

"It will allow the council to provide members and major stakeholders with an early warning of any disruption that may occur at these hotspot areas."

Councillor Manuel Abellan of the environment and sustainable transport committee, on Sutton council, echoed Cllr Cobbett's words.

"We are excited to be working with Aquasition to pilot this technology which aims to improve road safety for our residents and businesses in Sutton," he said.

"The scheme will notify our teams in advance about any rising water levels which may occur, supporting them to take early intervention to stop any surface water flooding."

The decision to introduce the technology comes amid the increasing risks of flooding posed by the escalating climate crisis.

There is a large amount of robust scientific data showing how the Earth's climate is heating up due largely due to human use of fossil fuels, and how that poses severe risks to social stability, global food supply and the wider ecology on the planet.

As the Earth heats up, more widespread flooding and heavier rainfall in parts of the world including the UK is also expected.

Indeed, according to the Met Office, the UK’s climate is already becoming wetter:

"For example, the highest rainfall totals over a five day period are 4 per cent higher during the most recent decade (2008-2017) compared to 1961-1990.

"Furthermore, the amount of rain from extremely wet days has increased by 17 per cent when comparing the same time periods," a spokesperson for the authority said previously.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meanwhile reported that the UK could expect to see about 10 per cent more rainfall on average per year by 2100 compared to 1986-2005, meaning a much heightened risk of flooding in the coming years.