Suburban Area CLIMATE RISK

Portobello Climate Risk Data

Portobello is a suburb in City of Edinburgh, within City of Edinburgh council area. This page shows flood, heat, air quality, and subsidence risk data for Portobello, drawn from official UK government sources. LocalRisk tracks 12 postcodes within Portobello.

Portobello has relatively low flood risk based on Environment Agency NaFRA2 data. 5.4% of postcodes in Portobello fall into high or higher flood risk bands, with a further 1.6% at medium risk and 93.0% at lower risk. Flood risk at street level can differ significantly from these area-wide averages — elevation, proximity to watercourses, and local drainage all affect individual postcode risk bands. Check a specific postcode above for your exact Environment Agency flood risk rating.

Heat risk in Portobello is relatively low under current projections. Met Office UKCP18 data suggests around 5 days above 25°C per year in this area by the 2021-2040 period (central estimate, high emissions scenario). These are probabilistic projections — actual outcomes depend on future emissions levels. Properties in Portobello without adequate ventilation or insulation may face increasing summer heat stress and higher cooling costs as temperatures rise.

Air quality in Portobello averages 4.9 µg/m³ PM2.5, which is relatively low — meeting the WHO annual mean guideline of 5 µg/m³. Defra UK-AIR monitoring data underpins this figure. PM2.5 levels are typically higher near busy roads, industrial areas, and dense urban centres, and lower in parks, green corridors, and residential backstreets.

Subsidence data for Portobello is sourced from the British Geological Survey GeoSure dataset, which maps clay shrink-swell risk across Great Britain. In areas with shrink-swell clay, foundations can shift as soils dry out in summer and re-wet in winter. Properties built before 1980 on clay-rich ground are most exposed. Check a specific postcode for Portobello for a property-level subsidence risk band.

Anyone buying, renting, or advising on property in Portobello can use LocalRisk to run a free climate risk check on any UK postcode. Each report covers flood risk (Environment Agency), heat projections (Met Office), air quality (Defra), subsidence (BGS), and coastal erosion where applicable — the same underlying datasets used by insurers, conveyancers, and local planning authorities. Use the postcode links above to check a specific address in Portobello.

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