How this summer's heatwaves are affecting breeding birds
This summer's heatwaves across southern Britain and much of continental Europe have had a mixed effect on breeding birds. Warm, sunny days allow them plenty of time to feed and reduce the risk of their chicks dying in the nest because of spells of cold, wet and windy weather.
Yet long periods of very hot and dry weather can be equally harmful: baby birds can overheat, and some insect food can be scarce or hard to reach, especially when the ground bakes hard and dry.
In the longer term, if summer droughts become the norm, then some species will suffer, while others will benefit by shifting their ranges further north. A seminal 2021 report from the BTO, Climate Change and the UK's Birds, noted that certain groups of birds – notably seabirds and upland specialists – are already being affected negatively by the climate crisis. And while roughly half of our breeding species don't appear to be affected, we need to continue regular surveys of their populations so ensure that we can try to mitigate any harm.
Sign up to Down to Earth
The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential
after newsletter promotion
In the short term, the RSPB has reminded us to regularly refill our bird baths with clean water, as birds need to drink and bathe during hot weather to keep themselves healthy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK temperatures to turn warmer after heavy rain and thunderstorms cause yellow weather warnings
Sunnier spells and warmer temperatures are expected to return to the UK this week, after Monday's bout of heavy rain and thunderstorms. While scattered showers can be expected in the days to come, the Met Office predicts the weather will become more settled with sunnier spells and highs in the mid-twenties. Paul Gundersen, chief meteorologist at the Met Office said: 'This week's weather will be changeable, starting off with a yellow warning for thunderstorms covering much of the UK today and into this evening, whilst another yellow warning is in place for heavy rain across western Scotland. 'Further showers may cause localised disruption on Tuesday and Wednesday, but many places will miss these and see sunny spells. 'Temperatures for the week ahead will generally be near average, though it will feel warm in sunnier spots and cooler under persistent cloud and rain. 'Winds will be moderate for most, occasionally fresh around coasts. By the weekend, conditions are expected to settle down slightly, with drier and brighter spells developing more widely. The picture will become clearer closer to the time, so do keep an eye on the Met Office forecast' It comes after the Environment Agency issued a warning to motorists that thunderstorms could lead them to become stranded in floodwater, and urged them not to drive through deep or fast-flowing water. The Met Office also warned storms could pose a danger to life as well as damage to homes and businesses from flood water and lightning strikes, and transport delays and road closures. Tom Morgan, Met Office presenter and meteorologist, said: 'By Monday evening, that rain will be starting to ease very slowly, but there'll still be showery outbreaks of rain through this evening and overnight for many northern and western parts of the UK.' In parts of Scotland, yellow warnings for thunderstorms remain in place on Tuesday, while the rest of the country is expected to see a more mixed picture of sunny spells and scattered showers. The wet weather comes after a dry and hot spring and three heatwaves so far this summer which left four regions of England in drought. England recorded its driest March to June period since 1893, according to the Environment Agency, and dry ground can make flooding more likely as it is unable absorb as much water.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Deadly storms hit France, wildfires break out in Italy and Spain and 43C blowtorch heatwave hits Greece - as Brits prepare for the big summer getaway
Europe is in the grip of an unforgiving bout of extreme weather that is battering popular holiday destinations just as British tourists prepare to head abroad for the summer. Searing heatwaves, devastating wildfires and violent storms are sweeping the continent, threatening lives, scorching landscapes and putting emergency services under immense pressure. Tourist hotspots in Italy and Spain are contending with several punishing blazes, with hundreds of firefighters and water-carrying aircraft dispatched to quell the flames. Greek authorities meanwhile are warning residents and holidaymakers to expect a week of hellish warmth, with the mercury expected to peak at 43 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. The Hellenic Meteorological Service issued public health warnings this morning, declaring temperatures would linger between 38 and 40 degrees C today and increase well beyond that throughout the week. Similar temperatures are present throughout Turkey and southern Italy. Elsewhere, France and Germany are facing a contrasting crisis as punishing storms and torrential downpours tear across towns and cities, felling trees, ripping off rooftops and flooding roads. FRANCE: A lighting bolt lights up the sky as people prepare to leave the beach during a thunder storm over the city of La Baule Spain is struggling to quell a series of wildfires that have already burned through 70,000 hectares of land in recent weeks. On Friday, the skies above Madrid turned an ominous shade of orange as the Spanish sunshine illuminated a blanket of smoke drifting across the capital from nearby forest fires. Authorities say more than a dozen localised fires are currently raging, with high temperatures, intense winds and persistent drought having turned the country into a 'powder keg'. Several regions were placed under a very high or high warning level by the Forest Fire Potential Spread Index (FPI) published this morning, with Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo and Castilla-La Mancha thought to be under threat. It comes as a fire in Toledo was extinguished overnight. The Italian island of Sicily is also battling six separate wildfires, with soaring temperatures leading authorities to issue red alert warnings for four provinces this week. Sicily's Forestry Corps and Civil Protection workers were engaged all weekend as they worked to extinguish the fires, with six water-dropping aircraft drafted into control the flames. Three of the blazes are located in the northwest in the countryside between the cities of Palermo and Trapani, with two more reported along the south coast and another in the suburbs of the eastern city of Catania. Horrifying images snapped overnight by residents in Trapani showed thick orange flames scything through bone-dry hills on the outskirts of the city. This morning, meteorologists placed the eastern provinces of Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna and Messina under red alert warnings, with emergency services preparing for the prospect of yet more infernos. These warnings come amid an intense heatwave engulfing southern Europe as winds bring subtropical air from northern Africa to southern Italy and Greece, according to meteorologist Giulio Betti. As Spanish and Italian emergency services battle the wildfires, Greek meteorologist Clearchos Marousakis said parts of his nation will experience 43 degrees Celsius heat, and said the mercury could go even higher. Marousakis said the 'ceiling' of this week's heatwave 'is estimated at 41 to 43 degrees Celsius inland'. He added that the heat wave 'will be intense and long-lasting' and will be accompanied by high winds along the coast. Greek emergency services will therefore be on high alert for more wildfires, weeks after Crete and several other parts of the country were overwhelmed by infernos that triggered evacuations of some 5,000 people. Those punishing blazes sparked in the mountains between the villages of Ferma, Achila and Agia Fota on July 1 and were whipped up by powerful gusts. Evacuations were ordered at three sites outside the port of Ierapetra on the island's south coast as the inferno raged out of control overnightand by Wednesday afternoon was threatening to engulf residences and tourist resorts. Around 230 firefighters were dispatched to contain the fires along with 10 water-dropping aircraft to fly regular sorties over Crete, with reinforcements sent from Athens. The president of a hotelier's association told Protothema that 5,000 people - mostly foreign tourists - were moved out of homes and hotels, while dozens were taken to hospital with respiratory issues triggered by thick clouds of smoke and ash. Wildfires have burned more than 227,000 hectares of land in Europe since the beginning of the year, according to the EU's European Forest Fire Information System - far above the average figure for the first six months of the year. It's not yet clear if 2025 will be a record year, as that will depend on how the fire season evolves in the coming months, but the number of fires in Europe has also surged this year so far, with 1,118 blazes detected as of July 8, versus 716 in the same period last year, EFFIS said. Countries are preparing for worse blazes. Warmer-than-average temperatures are forecast across Europe in August, EFFIS said, meaning fire danger will remain high across much of southern and eastern Europe. While Southern Europe is expected to see normal rainfall patterns, the rest of the continent is expected to be drier than normal in August, EFFIS said - potentially exacerbating fire risk in other regions. Firefighting efforts continue from the air for the forest fire which broke out at Mediterranean scrubs between Partinico and Alcamo, western of Sicily, Italy on July 20, 2025 While Italy, Spain and Greece battle wildfires and scorching heat, residents in France and Germany are facing a very different problem. Brutal storms engulfed much of eastern France over the weekend with one person killed and six more injured amid the violent weather events. The roofs of several houses were torn off in the department of Saone-et-Loire, north of Lyon, such was the intensity of the winds and the lightning storms. One person attempting to make repairs to his roof was killed when he was blown off a ladder, while in nearby Jura, almost 5,000 people were left without power. Another person was seriously injured in Devrouze when he too was blown off a roof, and five more people were hurt in the Alpine department of Savoie when a tree was felled and landed on a car. Meanwhile, the German Weather Service (DWD) this morning issued a string of weather alerts for much of the north and southeast of the country, warning of heavy rainfall and the prospect of flash floods. DWD meteorologists warned residents could expect to see up to 100 litres of rainfall per square metre over a 12-hour period later today, with winds reaching 80 kilometres per hour. Videos and images shared to social media late yesterday also showed huge hailstones that were raining down across parts of the country. Southern Germany experienced golf ball-sized hail, with chunks of ice up to 5cm in size raining down through thick fog. A mixture of level two warnings for 'significant weather' and level three warnings for 'severe weather' have been issued for Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. A level three warning has also been issued for Berlin.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
China hit by multiple storms, floods, and heatwaves as Typhoon Wipha makes landfall
Multiple storms and a severe heatwave have swept across China, killing dozens, damaging infrastructure and disrupting travel as authorities brace for more heavy rain and rising temperatures. Typhoon Wipha made landfall in southern Guangdong province on Sunday evening, battering cities like Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming with winds of over 118kmph and dumping torrential rain that uprooted trees, triggered landslides and left thousands without power. The system also disrupted travel across the Pearl River Delta, grounding more than 900 flights in Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. Hong Kong was briefly placed under its maximum typhoon warning as gusts exceeded 167kmph and scaffolding collapsed in parts of the city. Authorities reported 471 fallen trees and at least 26 injuries linked to the storm. Hong Kong's airport authority said 80,000 travellers were hit by the rescheduling of 400 flights forced by the typhoon. By Sunday night, the typhoon weakened to a severe tropical storm as it moved inland, but the threat of flooding and landslides persisted across southern China, including Guangxi and Hainan. Local forecasters warned that the system could re-intensify over the Gulf of Tonkin before making landfall in northern Vietnam. Meanwhile, torrential rain continued across parts of China already inundated by earlier storms. In July alone, flooding, landslides and storm surges have affected millions across coastal provinces, including Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi. A separate set of storms triggered flash floods in Henan and Gansu last week, where rivers burst their banks, buildings collapsed, and at least seven people were killed or reported missing. The Ministry of Emergency Management said China's first-half disaster toll included at least 307 people dead or missing, over 23 million affected residents, and more than $7.6bn in economic damage, with the bulk caused by weather-related events. While southern regions battled floods, other parts of China faced record-breaking heat. Temperatures soared to 46C in Xi'an this month, with surface readings exceeding 70C in some cities. Red alerts were issued in provinces including Shaanxi and Yunnan, prompting cooling shelters and curbs on outdoor work as electricity demand hit historic highs. The National Meteorological Centre has warned of continued extreme weather through July and August, China's typical peak season for typhoons and floods. Chen Min, China's vice-minister of water resources, warned at a news conference earlier this month that the 'global trend of climate warming is evident' in China. 'In recent years, more frequent, intense and widespread extreme weather events have led to more abrupt, severe and abnormal disasters such as heavy rainfall, floods and droughts,' he said. Meanwhile, monsoon continued to create mayhem in South Korea in the east and Indian subcontinent in the west. At least 18 people have died and 9 were missing after five days of record-breaking rain triggered flash floods and landslides in South Korea. Over 14,000 people have been evacuated nationwide, and the government has dispatched thousands of troops for recovery work. In Gapyeong, one man died after calling his wife to say his car was being swept away, while entire villages in Sancheong were buried in mudslides. In India, intense rainfall and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have killed at least 140 people since late June. Roads, bridges and homes have been swept away in mountain districts, with cloudbursts triggering deadly flash floods. In Nepal, a glacial lake outburst on the Chinese border on 8 July sent a wall of water downstream, destroying the Friendship Bridge, submerging vehicles, and killing at least nine people. Nineteen others remain missing. Pakistan has also suffered one of its deadliest monsoons since the devastating floods of 2022. More than 200 people have died, including dozens of children, and over 560 have been injured in rain-related incidents since June 26, with Punjab province the worst affected.
