National Trust warns weather extremes set to become 'new normal'

This year’s “litany” of weather extremes is set to become the new norm, the National Trust has warned.

In its review of the year, the conservation charity said 2022’s weather had been challenging for nature.

It warned this year was a “stark illustration” of the difficulties many of the UK’s species could face without more action to tackle climate change and help nature cope.

The hot summer and months of low rainfall dried up rivers, fragile chalk streams and ponds, damaged crops and natural habitats, and fuelled wildfires that destroyed landscapes.

Wildfires on National Trust land scorched areas including Zennor Head, Cornwall, Bolberry Down in south Devon, Baggy Point in north Devon and Studland in Dorset, destroying homes of species including rare sand lizards.

Alongside the weather extremes, 2022 was also a devastating year for wild birds hit by avian flu, with thousands of seabirds dying in colonies where they had returned to breed.

There were some “winners” this year, including good apple crops on many National Trust estates, and another record-breaking year for choughs breeding on its land in Cornwall.

Keith Jones, climate change adviser at the National Trust, said: “There is no escaping that this year’s weather has been challenging for nature.

“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 litany of weather extremes.

“It is a stark illustration of the sort of difficulties many of our species will face if we don’t do more to mitigate rising temperatures and helping nature’s survival.”

He added: “Weather experts predict that the future will see more torrential downpours, along with very dry and hot summers, with 2022 setting a benchmark for what a ‘typical’ year for weather could be like.

“But the ‘new normal’ is also likely to result in even more extreme weather events than now.”

The National Trust said conservation work to improve habitat was helping make the environment and species more resilient to the changes brought by rising temperatures.

At Holnicote in Somerset beavers introduced to an enclosure have engineered a wet woodland habitat with higher water levels, maintaining a lush landscape through the summer drought.

At Purbeck Heath in Dorset work to create a wildlife rich landscape means the Trust expects it to recover more quickly from a devastating fire this year, as species will be able to recolonise the burnt areas.