David Cameron is treating the symptoms of flooding, but not the causes | Damian Carrington

Cumbria's floods show what climate change looks like for the whole country - and yet the prime minister has overseen underinvestment in flood defences

Record rain, flooded homes, evacuations, power cuts, Red Cross centres, mobilised soldiers and emergency Cobra committee meetings: this is what climate change looks like for the UK.

Flooding is the nation's number one threat from global warming: five million homes are already at risk, and the number is rising as temperature rises.