In the updated plan, which was consulted on over the autumn, the EA said defences upstream of the Thames Barrier in inner London will need to be raised 15 years earlier than had originally been planned.
The regulator's new and improved climate models had illustrated the “heightened risk of flooding from a warming climate and rising sea levels” and that these defences would therefore need to be raised in 2050.
The plan, known as 'Thames Estuary 2100', sets out how the EA aims to protect more than 1.4 million people and £321bn of property until the end of the century. It is estimated the plan will cost £16bn to implement.
There is a network of more than 330km of walls and embankments, nine major barriers and gates - including the Thames Barrier - and over 400 other structures including flood gates, outfalls and pumps currently protecting the capital and the Southeast of England from tidal and fluvial flooding. However, the EA only maintains...