Climate change made UK’s waterlogged winter worse
Climate change is a major reason the UK suffered such a waterlogged winter, scientists have confirmed.
It was the country’s second wettest October to March period on record and a disaster for farmers, who faced flooded fields during a key planting period.
Global warming due to humans burning fossil fuels made this level of rainfall at least four times more likely, according to the World Weather Attribution group.
One farmer in Lincolnshire told the BBC that a third of his farm could not be planted in time this year.
Colin Chappell, a fourth generation farmer on the banks of the River Ancholme in Lincolnshire, who produces food including peas, oil and wheat, says he will only produce half what he would usually expect.
“There are some farms in the valley that will not see a harvest at all this year. That hasn’t happened here since 1948,” he says.
He believes the future for many farmers is bleak.
“If you’ve got nothing to bring in from your fields, what do you sell?”
“Supermarkets will just move to imports so the consumer won’t feel the impact of British farms closing down until it’s too late.”
