<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/02/britain-food-shortages-drought-continues-farmers>
"Britain could face shortages of certain foods after punishing drought in parts
of England, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned as a heatwave was
forecast to continue into next week.
The UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued heat health alerts for eight
regions of England, with temperatures set to rise above 30C in parts of the
country. UKHSA said rising temperatures may increase health risks, particularly
for vulnerable groups.
Farms across the country were affected by floods over the winter, making
planting extremely difficult, and now in many areas they do not have access to
water as irrigation is being restricted due to drought.
It is the third drought in five years and farming groups say this is the new
normal for agriculture in Britain. Wheat farmers say their crop is half its
normal height, and England is seeing its earliest ever harvest as farmers
battle to salvage what they can of their produce.
In some areas it has not rained for over a month, while multiple
record-breaking heatwaves have hit the country since early summer, drying out
the soil.
Tom Bradshaw, the NFU president, said this could lead to food shortages and he
had asked the prime minister to take action. He told BBC Radio 4 that farmers
should be given tax breaks to build water storage systems on their land to
prepare for the years ahead.
“Those other countries around the world that we currently rely on to produce
our food and vegetables, their climates are changing as well,” he said. “It
does feel like there is going be some shortages of [food] products.”
Climate breakdown is exacerbating extreme weather conditions such as droughts.
This summer the Met Office has reported that England had just 8% of its average
rainfall for July and it is likely to be confirmed as the driest July on
record."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
