Nature in turmoil thanks to climate change

CLIMATE change is causing "chaos" for nature in Britain because of rising temperatures, changing seasons, and unpredictable weather, the National Trust has said in its annual review.

- Danny Halpin

It is almost certain that 2023 will be the hottest year since records began and probably the hottest in the last 120,000 years, with the Met Office forecasting 2024 to be hotter still.

The UK has already warmed by over 1C above the pre-industrial average, leading to shorter winters and longer summers.

Extreme heat and drought is becoming more common, with the hottest June recorded this year and the River Derwent in the Lake District, traditionally one of England's wettest areas, drying out for the third consecutive summer.

It was followed by intense storms in the autumn, which caused widespread flooding.

High winds and waves battered the southern shoreline, with one area in Dorset seeing 15 years' worth of erosion in a day.