Fears for fish after very dry and warm spring

HIGH river temperatures this spring across the UK are sparking fears for the future of freshwater fish.

- By Chris Riches

English environmental charity West Cumbria Rivers Trust has found a number of waterways nearing the crisis point of 18C.

That is the temperature where cold-water fish such as trout begin to experience stress, potentially impacting breeding and feeding habits.

The charity said the unseasonably warm and dry weather of recent weeks has added to the long-term effects of climate change.

Britain has seen the driest start to a spring for 69 years, according to the English Environment Agency. It has left some farmers with tinder-dry fields, and wildlife on moors and country parks struggling for water.

Pictures of the Haweswater reservoir in Cumbria show water levels have dropped so far they have begun to reveal the hidden village of Mardale, which was deliberately flooded in 1939 to make the basin.