Extreme drought is changing Britain’s wildlife – and some effects won’t be seen until next year

By Paul Ashton, Professor of Botany, Edge Hill University

While wildfires dominated the headlines this summer, the effects of extreme heat and drought are also visible on a much smaller scale: parched lawns, wilting and browning trees and dry ditches and bogs. These changes may look temporary, but for wildlife they can have consequences that last long after the rain returns.

In some parts of the world, species have evolved to adapt to extreme heat and drought. However in Britain, which has a history of cold winters, cool summers and abundant rain, there hasn’t…

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