National Trust Warns Storms And Floods Threaten British Heritage In England

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest said British heritage is threatened by extreme weather conditions, warning that storms and floods have already damaged historic properties and that many of its sites are not designed to withstand extreme weather.

“Kate Williamson is a research associate focused on climate change adaptation at theOxford Centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)and was seconded to the UK Climate Change Committee in 2025”

Climate Home News

In January 2024, Avebury Manor & Garden flooded for the first time in 300 years in the United Kingdom, and Storm Henk followed by storms Isha and Jocelyn damaged many historic properties in England.

Climate Home News

The National Trust’s climate-change adviser Keith Jones said, as reported by the BBC, "Our unpredictable weather is causing confusion for our wildlife and the gradual disappearance of what used to be predictable seasons," while the article cited experts recording 333 Celestial Azure Blue butterfly (Polyommatus bellargus) individuals in an area west of Dorset in 2024 compared with 1,459 in the same area in 2023.

The same National Trust year-end report described some positives for wildlife, including rare dragonflies spotted in peat bogs such as Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire, and it also said a new colony of gray seals established on the east coast of England on the isolated Orford Ness beach.

A report described in FreshPlaza.fr warns that the UK's fresh produce supply is threatened by climate change, saying that in 2024 the UK imported 47% of its vegetables and 84% of its fruit.

The analysis by Aethr Associates in collaboration with the Fresh Produce Consortium said 64% of UK fruit and vegetable imports come from only ten countries, with temperatures in these countries expected to rise by an average of 16% by 2050.

Euronews

FreshPlaza.fr also reported that Spain, the UK’s leading source of fruit and vegetables, is expected to see the number of hot days rise from 9 to 20 per year, and it projected that by 2050, 72% of products from the ten main UK importing countries are expected to face extreme water stress.

Richard Bonn, co-founder of Aethr Associates, warned that "Increasing reliance on imports of fresh food from regions with limited water resources will lead to empty shelves and rising food prices, as we have seen in recent years," while the report urged importers to assess exposure to climate risks and work on mitigation strategies.

Euronews reported that a DEFRA report warns biodiversity loss threatens national security and prosperity, stating that without "major intervention," the United Kingdom risks increasing geopolitical instability, economic insecurity, conflicts, and migrations.

“A new report warns of serious risks to the UK's supply of fresh produce if retailers and importers do not take into account the growing impact of climate change”

FreshPlaza.fr

The same Euronews article said the report highlights the United Kingdom's dependence on global markets for its food and fertilizers, noting that the country currently imports about 40% of its food from abroad and that it is 'heavily dependent' on imports for fresh fruit, vegetables, and sugar.

In a separate development, the World Health Organization established a new Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health (PECCH) announced in Reykjavik, Iceland, led by Katrín Jakobsdóttir with Sir Andrew Haines serving as Chief Scientific Adviser.

TrendSanità’s account of the commission said the definitive recommendations will be presented in May 2026 during the World Health Assembly, and it described the health sector as accounting for about 5% of global emissions while also citing that in the United Kingdom, hospitals and clinics generate over 6,600 tons of waste per day.