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UK Faces Second-Worst Harvest on Record Amid Climate Change
By: Paige BennettPublished: October 11, 2024
Edited by Chris McDermott
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/uk-harvest-climate-change-agriculture-2024.html
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As The Guardian reported, a longer stretch of cold, wet weather from fall to early summer has led to wine grape harvests that are down by 33% to 75%, depending on the region. According to World Weather Attribution, rain in the UK from late 2023 into early 2024 was 20% more intense because of climate change.
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According to Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), England imports about half of its food, so when harvests are poor, the country must spend more to import more. But extreme heat and climate change are impacting other countries as well, leading to more strain on food security and food costs.
ECIU estimated that there could be major financial losses totaling £600 million ($784 million) on just five crops: wheat, winter barley, spring barley, oats, and oilseed rape. In total, these crops represented a 15% decline compared to 2023 and an 18% decline over the 5-year average.
“This year’s harvest was a shocker, and climate change is to blame. Whilst shoppers have been partly insulated by imports picking up some of the slack, Britain’s farmers have borne the brunt of the second worst harvest on record,” Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at ECIU, said in a statement. “It is clear that climate change is the biggest threat to UK food security. And these impacts are only going to get worse until we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, in order to stop the warming that is driving these extremes.”
-snip-
As The Guardian reported, a longer stretch of cold, wet weather from fall to early summer has led to wine grape harvests that are down by 33% to 75%, depending on the region. According to World Weather Attribution, rain in the UK from late 2023 into early 2024 was 20% more intense because of climate change.
-snip-
According to Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), England imports about half of its food, so when harvests are poor, the country must spend more to import more. But extreme heat and climate change are impacting other countries as well, leading to more strain on food security and food costs.
ECIU estimated that there could be major financial losses totaling £600 million ($784 million) on just five crops: wheat, winter barley, spring barley, oats, and oilseed rape. In total, these crops represented a 15% decline compared to 2023 and an 18% decline over the 5-year average.
“This year’s harvest was a shocker, and climate change is to blame. Whilst shoppers have been partly insulated by imports picking up some of the slack, Britain’s farmers have borne the brunt of the second worst harvest on record,” Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at ECIU, said in a statement. “It is clear that climate change is the biggest threat to UK food security. And these impacts are only going to get worse until we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, in order to stop the warming that is driving these extremes.”
-snip-