https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ldlife-aoeFalling birds and dehydrated hedgehogs: heatwave takes its toll on UK wildlife
Animal rescue centres received a glut of calls, birds fell out of the sky and nature reserves burned as British wildlife baked in last week’s heatwave.
Conservationists said animals were eerily still as they tried to shelter from the heat. Experts fear that record-breaking temperatures could cause a further collapse in insect numbers, with bumblebees and butterflies among those most affected.
Dehydrated hedgehogs, baby birds, fox cubs and grass snakes were some of the casualties helped by the RSPCA, which warned that the extent of the damage from heat stress in the 40C (104F) conditions was vast. “Our emergency call centre has many more calls than usual. On Monday we received 7,186 calls to our helpline compared to 4,416 on Sunday, which was a big increase,” said Evie Button, scientific officer in the wildlife department at the RSPCA.
There were reports of swifts falling out of the sky in London, and Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue near Didcot said it could not take any more animals after the heatwave increased the number of casualties being brought in. “Often you don’t see the impacts of something like this directly because the nature of wildlife is to hide away when they’re sick or injured,” said Button. “It’s often only when they’re in a really bad state that people will see them and call us. So a lot of the impact will be hidden.”
Among the most dramatic events was a wildfire in Norfolk’s Wild Ken Hill reserve, where 33 hectares (82 acres) of thorny scrub went up in flames, with nesting territories of turtle doves, grasshopper warblers and reed warblers destroyed. Reptiles and amphibians would have burned, while most birds would have escaped – apart from those nesting late in the season,experts said. “I saw some birds flying back into the flames. I think the maternal instinct is quite strong,” said project manager Dominic Buscall. “I’m concerned about it happening again this year. It’s incredibly dry, we have no rain forecast this week and it’s only mid-July,” he added.
Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
Re: Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
Avocados and exotic plants grow in hot UK summer
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62665053 (Photos at link)
Record-breaking hot and dry weather this summer has seen more exotic plants including figs and avocadoes growing in the UK, gardeners have told BBC News.
It's part of a trend of Mediterranean and sub-tropical plants thriving in recent years, they say.
Some varieties previously thought of as houseplants are now growing successfully outside, while traditional British garden varieties struggle.
But scientists warn that lack of water in the future could threaten plants.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) predicts that wetter winters and warmer, drier summers with greater variability in rainfall will produce conditions favourable to some more exotic plants.
Our planet has warmed by 1.1C since the industrial revolution about 200 years ago, which scientists link to human-induced climate change. The UK is warming slightly faster than the average pace of global temperature increase, according to the Met Office.
Gardens in the north of England are feeling the effects including Harlow Carr in Harrogate which has had a sub-tropical garden since 2020.
The Royal Horticulture Society garden is curated by Russell Watkins who first started working there 17 years ago. Back then, he grew plants standard to the UK - a mix of hardy shrubs and perennials that live for many years.
"We have all pushed the boundaries of what we can grow", he says, pointing to the huge tropical-looking foliage of the rice paper plant, saying "a few years ago it wouldn't have survived".
Hardy bananas, various dahlias, and some species of ginger are increasingly surviving winters, he says, and "thriving in the long spells of sunny weather that we have had this year."
Higher temperatures are being felt further north than they used to be as a result of human-induced climate change, according to Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre.
Further south, in East Anglia, window cleaner Chris Bower grows sub-tropical plants as a hobby and has successfully grown watermelons and figs. This year he's proud of his crop of jujube or Chinese dates, persimmons, and yuzu, a type of citrus.
"As climate change continues it becomes easier and easier" to grow non-native varieties, he explains to BBC News.
With experience, he has been able to experiment more, while the drier climate in East Anglia means he tries to grow plants that need less water.
While in cities, the heat island effect (where a city experiences much warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas due to the infrastructure) is boosting the growth of exotic fruits.
Kew Gardens Botanist James Wong has found avocados growing in London.
He believes that some are from discarded seeds that have since sprouted, and highlights that they are hardier than many people think.
"The really big London avocados have taken lows of even -10C for short periods including during the 'beast from the east' storm in 2018," he explains.
Some groups, including diaspora communities, have been attempting to grow sub-tropical and exotic fruit and vegetables for many years.
Black Rootz, a black-led growing project in north London, grows sweet potatoes, exotic squashes and tomatillos on their site in Haringey.
The group's co-founder Paulette Henry has been growing these vegetables for decades, but says warmer summers recently have boosted them.
But experts are also warning that a continuation of hot dry summers like the one seen this year will negatively impact crops as all plants need water to grow and establish.
"Long summers may well be initially warmly welcomed in the UK, and provide an exciting opportunity for growing new exotic food crops," explains Chris Atkinson, a plant scientist from the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich explains.
But he warns water shortages pose a problem to effectively growing any type of plant.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62665053 (Photos at link)
Record-breaking hot and dry weather this summer has seen more exotic plants including figs and avocadoes growing in the UK, gardeners have told BBC News.
It's part of a trend of Mediterranean and sub-tropical plants thriving in recent years, they say.
Some varieties previously thought of as houseplants are now growing successfully outside, while traditional British garden varieties struggle.
But scientists warn that lack of water in the future could threaten plants.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) predicts that wetter winters and warmer, drier summers with greater variability in rainfall will produce conditions favourable to some more exotic plants.
Our planet has warmed by 1.1C since the industrial revolution about 200 years ago, which scientists link to human-induced climate change. The UK is warming slightly faster than the average pace of global temperature increase, according to the Met Office.
Gardens in the north of England are feeling the effects including Harlow Carr in Harrogate which has had a sub-tropical garden since 2020.
The Royal Horticulture Society garden is curated by Russell Watkins who first started working there 17 years ago. Back then, he grew plants standard to the UK - a mix of hardy shrubs and perennials that live for many years.
"We have all pushed the boundaries of what we can grow", he says, pointing to the huge tropical-looking foliage of the rice paper plant, saying "a few years ago it wouldn't have survived".
Hardy bananas, various dahlias, and some species of ginger are increasingly surviving winters, he says, and "thriving in the long spells of sunny weather that we have had this year."
Higher temperatures are being felt further north than they used to be as a result of human-induced climate change, according to Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre.
Further south, in East Anglia, window cleaner Chris Bower grows sub-tropical plants as a hobby and has successfully grown watermelons and figs. This year he's proud of his crop of jujube or Chinese dates, persimmons, and yuzu, a type of citrus.
"As climate change continues it becomes easier and easier" to grow non-native varieties, he explains to BBC News.
With experience, he has been able to experiment more, while the drier climate in East Anglia means he tries to grow plants that need less water.
While in cities, the heat island effect (where a city experiences much warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas due to the infrastructure) is boosting the growth of exotic fruits.
Kew Gardens Botanist James Wong has found avocados growing in London.
He believes that some are from discarded seeds that have since sprouted, and highlights that they are hardier than many people think.
"The really big London avocados have taken lows of even -10C for short periods including during the 'beast from the east' storm in 2018," he explains.
Some groups, including diaspora communities, have been attempting to grow sub-tropical and exotic fruit and vegetables for many years.
Black Rootz, a black-led growing project in north London, grows sweet potatoes, exotic squashes and tomatillos on their site in Haringey.
The group's co-founder Paulette Henry has been growing these vegetables for decades, but says warmer summers recently have boosted them.
But experts are also warning that a continuation of hot dry summers like the one seen this year will negatively impact crops as all plants need water to grow and establish.
"Long summers may well be initially warmly welcomed in the UK, and provide an exciting opportunity for growing new exotic food crops," explains Chris Atkinson, a plant scientist from the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich explains.
But he warns water shortages pose a problem to effectively growing any type of plant.
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Re: Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
Just seen a report on the extreme heatwave in Spain, reservoirs dry, crops dying in the fields, shortages of sunflowers etc……. It would appear the UK is getting much better weather whilst large parts of the world are going to become unliveable
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pharvey
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Re: Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
Seriously!! Ridiculous comment to make! We are all suffering throughout the world, let alone Europe - where are you based, Lah-De-Dah Land?
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
Re: Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
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handdrummer
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Re: Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
The problem isn't climate change, that's in perpetuity, the question is; can humans do anything to mitigate it, or do we just have to adapt and wait for governments and corporations to act upon global warming?
If the world has to wait until India and China clean up their act, it's going to be a long hot summer and freezing winter.
If the world has to wait until India and China clean up their act, it's going to be a long hot summer and freezing winter.
Re: Effects of the UK heatwave on wildlife & vegetation
'Better weather'!
Extreme heat can be a serious health risk for those with heart and lung conditions, and more deaths are recorded in the UK during heatwave days. Heatwave deaths now reach into the many thousands in the UK.
Heatwaves in cities can also cause spikes in toxic air pollution, causing breathing difficulties and developmental problems in children.
Flooding
The UK is now facing frequent record-breaking winter floods. People sometimes die in these floods, and they do untold damage to homes and livelihoods, sometimes year after year.
February 2020 was the wettest February on record. That month, Storms Dennis, Ciara and George left thousands of homes flooded and many more without power.
Extreme heat is deadly, and heatwaves can kill thousands of people, with around 3,000 people dying in the UK in 2021 due to hot conditions, according to Dr Vikki Thompson, climate scientist at the University of Bristol.
While extreme cold is still the biggest weather killer of people in the UK, Prof Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading warns heatwaves will begin to take over as the most dangerous natural hazard in years to come without action to curb climate change.
More heatwaves will also mean more disruption to travel, health services and work and education, and the hot conditions – especially coming after dry periods such as the one seen in parts of England this year – make wildfires more likely.