Last month was the wettest August yet recorded in the west of Scotland and the third wettest for the country as a whole, according to new figures released today.
Overall, summer 2009 was the fourth dampest since records began in 1929.
Ronnie Falconer, one of the country’s most senior environmental engineers, said flooding of the type that caused chaos in Scotland this week would be “a major challenge” in the years ahead.
He said it was essential that authorities underpin recent policy on flood management with the necessary funding to implement it.
“With climate change, we may well see an increase in this type of flooding, as well as other types of flooding,” said Mr Falconer, who advises the Scottish Government and European Union on flood prevention.
He described the recent Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 as a “significant milestone in the management of flood risk in Scotland”, but said the political momentum behind the new act must be maintained if progress is to be made.
A number of flood reduction measures have been put in place, he added, but they will need time and funding to be fully effective.
Environmental campaigners and weather analysts said there was growing evidence of climate change in Scotland.
Heather Reid, a BBC meteorologist, told The Herald that she had noticed a trend towards wetter, cooler summers in recent years.
“I’ve been forecasting now for almost 16 years, and during that time I can count on the fingers of one hand the times we’ve had a good ‘standard’ summer, by which I mean July and August,” she said.
“It’s consistent with global warming. I wouldn’t say we’ve had fantastic, lazy summer weather since 1995.”
Wildlife and environment charity WWF Scotland, which released the figures, said the poor summer could put people off holidaying in Scotland in years ahead.
WWF’s Dr Richard Dixon said: “August has been a washout over most of Scotland, with record rainfall in the south-west.
“The recession has resulted in many people holidaying in the UK this year but the poor summer weather may make them think twice next year.”
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