Updated Local Authority Climate Service (LACS)

Introduction

The Met Office has released an updated version of the Local Authority Climate Service (LACS), continuing its work with Defra to support evidence-based climate adaptation planning across the UK. LACS provides Local Authorities with accessible, location-specific climate information to help them better understand and respond to climate risks in their area.

Launched in 2024, LACS forms part of the Met Office Climate Data Portal and is underpinned by geospatial technology developed with Esri UK. It also supports commitments set out in the Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) and the Fourth Strategy for Climate Adaptation Reporting, helping to strengthen how climate evidence is used in decision-making.

What’s new in the service?

In response to user feedback, the Met Office has introduced several important updates to improve how the service can be used in practice.

The updated LACS now includes:

• Higher-resolution climate data, with information available below Local Authority level to better capture local variation and extreme weather risks
• Improved representation of climate extremes, helping users better understand how risks may change in the future
• UK-wide sea level rise data, now available for all Local Authorities, including inland areas that rely on coastal infrastructure
• New case studies, showing how Local Authorities are already using LACS in adaptation planning and decision-making

Together, these updates aim to make climate information more detailed, practical, and relevant for real-world planning.

As Professor Jason Lowe OBE, Met Office Principal Fellow for Climate Science and Applications, explains, these improvements are designed to help Local Authorities better understand and communicate the risks from extreme weather as the climate continues to change, and to support stronger resilience in local communities.

Why this matters?

While LACS has been developed primarily for Local Authorities, the updated dataset may also be useful for other organisations working on climate risk, resilience, and adaptation planning.

By improving access to more detailed and usable climate information, the service supports more informed conversations about local risk — from heat and flooding to sea level rise — and helps strengthen the evidence base for adaptation decisions.

Find out more

To explore the updates in more detail, read the full Met Office blog.