Weather challenge for wildlife

The 'new normal' of this year's dry spring and hot summer put untold strain on wildlife, but some species benefited, says the National Trust nature review. Emily Beament reports

- 

The UK's landscapes and wildlife endured drought, heat and fires that gave way to downpours and floods in 2025 as extreme weather becomes the 'new normal'

(Chris Smith)

THE UK's landscapes and wildlife endured drought, heat and fires that gave way to downpours and floods in 2025 as extreme weather becomes the "new normal".

The National Trust's annual review of the year for nature warned the latest in a run of recent drought years was putting "untold strain" on habitats and hitting everything from new trees to natterjack toads.

But there was some good news for nature, as butterflies rebounded from the disastrous wet spring and summer in 2024 and hazel dormice enjoyed the long warm season and fattened up on the mast year for fruit, berries and nuts.

And the National Trust said scaling up efforts to restore habitats could give "wildlife and landscapes the lifeline they need" in the face of growing climate change-driven extremes, as ponds created by beavers stayed lush and wet and wetland restoration projects thrived even in 2025's drought.

This year was bookended by storms Eowyn, which hit in January and toppled tens of thousands of trees across Northern Ireland, and in November, Claudia, which triggered flood warnings across England and Wales, and Bram, which brought a month's worth of rain on Dartmoor in just 48 hours.

But the "defining" weather of 2025 was the warmest and sunniest spring on record, followed by a record hot summer and widespread drought, which saw streams and ponds dry up, rivers and reservoirs dwindle, and led to the UK's worst ever fire season.

Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation at the National Trust, said: “Heat, drought and fire are the defining headlines of 2025.

“In just two years, we've lurched from a very wet period to record-breaking heat and dryness that put our countryside on red alert.”