UK weather extremes to become new normal, says National Trust

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Extreme weather in the UK in 2022 has been warned by the National Trust as a benchmark for what a typical year could be like in the future.

Major challenges for nature have been created by high temperatures and back-to- back storms.

Such conditions were described in the review as the new normal.

This year was an example of the difficulties many UK species could face without more action to address climate change.

The charity said that the hot summer and months of low precipitation dried up rivers, fragile chalk streams and ponds, damaged crops and natural habitats, and caused fires.

The homes of rare sand lizards were destroyed by the fires on National Trust land.

The UK's warmest year on record will be in 2022, according to the Met Office.

• In February, Storm Franklin became the third named storm to hit the UK in a week - following Dudley and Eunice - the first time this has happened since the storm naming system was introduced in 2015
• A new record UK high of 40.3C was recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 19 July 2022
• An official drought was declared in large parts of England in August, as low-water levels and tinder-dry conditions gripped the UK
• Autumn 2022 was one of the UK's warmest, with November being 1.8C above average, making it the third warmest on record, behind only 2006 and 2011, according to the Met Office
• December's cold snap put the UK in the grip of a spell of severe cold weather, with snow, ice and fog warnings in place across the UK

Nattterjack toads and bats had to be rescued because of the dry conditions.

Half of the trees planted last winter to store carbon and boost woodland habitat were lost due to the extreme heat and dry weather.

The calm, dry spring weather resulted in a few success stories, especially for this year's apple harvest due to the lack of late frosts.

There is a lot of nuts and seeds in the east of England, North and Northern Ireland.

This year's mast year has been unusual with trees fruiting earlier than usual.

Image source, PA Media

According to the National Trust's climate change adviser, there was no escaping how challenging this year's weather had been.

"Drought, high temperatures, back-to-back storms, unseasonal heat, the recent cold snap and floods means nature, like us, is having to cope with a new variety of weather extremes."

He said weather experts predicted the future would be very dry and hot.

Thousands of seabirds died in colonies on the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland after they were hit by the avian flu.

The National Trust said it was working to make the environment and species more resistant to climate change.