Climate change: Seasonal shifts causing ‘chaos’ for UK nature
By Paul Homewood
This is a conspiracy to defraud the British public:
The loss of predictable weather patterns is "causing chaos" for nature, according to the National Trust.
It warns climate change is upsetting the regular rhythm of the seasons, making plants and wildlife more susceptible to disease.
The effects can be seen across the estates the National Trust manages.
This seasonal "baseline shift" is disrupting the annual behaviours of animals in particular but also impacting trees and plants, it said.
"The incremental shifts we’re experiencing in terms of our seasons extending may not feel like much in a 12-month period, but over a decade the changes are extremely significant", said Ben McCarthy, head of Nature and Restoration Ecology at the National Trust.
Meanwhile low water levels in rivers, lakes and reservoirs – caused by a lack of rain coupled with the high temperatures – has been a factor in increased algal blooms.
On some occasions this has led to mass fish deaths as oxygen levels crash, causing them to suffocate.
And there were dramatic storms too, with storms Babet and Ciaran damaging landscapes and coastlines around the country.
You may have noticed the impact the changes in the seasons are having in the parks around your home or in your garden.
Grass needs to be mowed much later into the year, for example.
The National Trust rangers and gardeners report it’s because of the increasingly warm and wet conditions at its sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67705812
There are two specific claims, around which the rest of the codswallop hinges, which have no basis in reality:
The loss of predictable weather patterns
The simple truth is that Britain has never had “predictable weather patterns”. Our seasonal weather has always changed from year to year, often drastically.
It is a myth that we used to have the same, predictable seasons every year. Some winters were cold and snowy, and others mild. Summers might be hot and dry, or cold and wet.
The four charts below plot the year-on-year changes in England. As you can see, we often saw swings of two or more degrees from one year to the next:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-and-regional-series
For example, the winter of 1915/16 was one of the mildest on record at the time. The following winter was one of the coldest.
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The incremental shifts we’re experiencing in terms of our seasons extending may not feel like much in a 12-month period, but over a decade the changes are extremely significant
The facts show that there has been no perceptible “climate change” in the last decade. As ever, there are the usual ups and downs, but no evidence whatsoever of these “incremental shifts” they talk about:
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https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-and-regional-series
The report gets itself horribly confused when it talks of low water levels in rivers, lakes and reservoirs – caused by a lack of rain and then goes on to say increasingly warm and wet conditions.
In fact neither claim has any relevance, as there are no trends either way in summer rainfall:
They also report about dramatic storms, with storms Babet and Ciaran damaging landscapes and coastlines around the country. UK storms have actually been declining since the 1990s in terms of both frequency and intensity. Claims like this underline the fact that the Met Office’s naming of storms has little to do with meteorology, and everything to do with propaganda.
One particularly misleading comment is this:
The idea that the moths have migrated as far north as Sweden because of global warming is utterly absurd. As with mosquitoes and other insects, they migrate via trade and transport. In England’s case, the first moths arrived accidentally in a shipment of trees from the continent. Since then it has spread across the South East because it can, not because it is getting warmer.
The whole idea that Britain’s nature is in a state of chaos because of climate change is ludicrous.
I’m looking out my window now, and the countryside around looks no different than it did fifty years ago when I first lived here.
Comments are closed.
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
the BBC is an evil fraud.
“ The loss of predictable weather patterns is “causing chaos” for nature, according to the National Trust.”
As a 71 year old resident of the island of Great Britain, I can affirm and attest that the one predictable feature of British weather patterns, is that they are entirely unpredictably and have been so all my life, and the lives of my ancestors going back long before Alfred burnt the cakes.
Great Britain is an island off the NW Coast of Europe with a huge landmass to the East and a huge ocean mass to the West. Our weather arrives from across the Atlantic, from across Europe and down from the Arctic and Steppes of Russia and these meet and have jolly old japes over our island.
It is a temperate, maritime climate which means we don’t actually get weather, just ever changing assorted samples.
The absurdity of the notion that there is anything predictable about British weather, may be observed by the practice of the many citizens carrying umbrellas on warm, bright, dry, sunny days.
Shouldn’t the NT stick to commenting on matters on which they have expertise, such as the presumed sexual proclivities of the long dead donors of the properties donated to their care?
Or even more importantly fixing their own roofs so to speak.
Love it!!
And complaining about their links with the slave trade that was started centuries before the transatlantic part they don’t like and of course still goes on today while ignoring that their favourite leftie ‘news’paper the Manchester Guardian was founded with slave trade money.
Well said sir
As a fellow 71 year old resident of the island of Great Britain, I agree with you.
Exactly. UK weather is very rarely average. It shifts randomly around the mean with considerable variation.
I think this is worth a Complaint. Oh so boring. Oh so annoying the tick boxes. But it is clearly my bounden public duty to Complain.
In my own tiny microcosm of the planet I am very lucky to have owned some woodland and pasture for 25 years. Over the course of the year I spend quite a lot of time there (as I dislike the company of many of my own kind) and whilst no expert on things I have noticed that on the surface it appears to look the same however when looking at indiviual things every year is completly different, mushrooms for example are really random,one does see some the same in the same location each year but many others I have observed only once or twice in 25 years, it is the same with flowers and berries on trees and indeed the wild life. there are always rabbits although the population increases and decreases each year. bird populations come and go as do the herds of wild deer.
Plus cą change, plus c’est même chose.
“Meanwhile low water levels in rivers, lakes and reservoirs – caused by a lack of rain coupled with the high temperatures – has been a factor in increased algal blooms.”
This has much to do with rivers no longer being dredged and land not drained into them. Dredging stopped when the silt brought up was declared ‘hazardous material’ according to EU rulz, requiring it to be carted away and disposed of in licensed sites – very expensive, so local authorities stopped doing it. Previously the silt was deposited on the banks, to raise their level and counter erosion.
Dykes and other water courses were kept clear by farmers as part of natural land management, but was stopped to allow wetlands to develop and create habitat for water foul and other animals.
Pumps used for land drainage were switched off for the same reason.
With rivers getting silted up and less water flowing into them, it is no wonder lakes and reservoirs are not filling so much and rivers themselves becoming shallower and slower flowing.
As a bonus – this has led in times of very heavy rainfall to widespread flooding of towns and villages.
It is entirely created by Government but like everything else blamed on climate change.
Flooding of the Somerset Levels. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/flooding/10655005/The-flooding-of-the-Somerset-Levels-was-deliberately-engineered.html
Ver interesting John. Near me lies the Romney Marsh. Way back in 1252 a Royal Charter granted local powers (The Lords of the Levels) to control the sea defences and maintain and drain the reclaimed land. Despite government attempts to interfere the area is still locally controlled by largely farming interests. Local contractors are used who understand the area. Needless to say, despite the worst nature has thrown, it does not flood.
A drainage board I think having been on a visit to a site growing cricket bat willows next to one of the control stations on a drain. As an aside to our changing landscape, a hedgeline was pointed out to us and we were told that has been revealed to be an old shoreline and yet it is now a trek to the sea.
You know what you write is true. I know what you write is true. Quite simply, If you let a drain (which is what the rivers on the Somerset levels are) silt up then you will get flooding of adjacent land. Indeed anyone with more than 2 brain cells know that it is true, so why is this not widely reported and why are the ‘authorities’ not correcting this and returning to those tried and trusted ways of yesteryear? i.e. dredge the affected rivers. EU rules? Who cares. They were written by a bunch of morons anyway.
The lies from the BBC and the NT are getting ridiculous. Keith Jones, the National Climate Change consultant at the National Trust, would not have his job if he didn’t spout nonsense about climate change. There must be tens of thousands of people in this country whose jobs are totally dependent on maintaining the climate change scam.
And, unfortunately, because people’s jobs depend on maintaining the climate change myth, no-one in employment dare challenge it.
Over the last year I have “complained” on no less than 14 occasions over BBC articles. Rather than “complain” over matters of opinion or interpretation I have only raised issues regarding factually incorrect items. For example in one article the BBC author referred to “water splitting” as “hydrolysis”. When I pointed out what hydrolysis actually meant (rather than electrolysis) they hilariously claimed the article was not aimed at people with my high level of “technical expertise”!
On all even vaguely climate or Net Zero related issues the BBC defended such equally ridiculous errors without fail. Bizarrely when I complained about a property/landlord related article being inaccurate and depending on just one biased report (I am a private landlord of sorts) they immediately responded, corrected the article and thanked me for bringing it to their attention.
I gleaned from their property issue response that the BBC was concerned with potential legal action being taken against them for promoting incorrect data.
With “environment” issues they simply hide behind the fact that they feel there is no action that can be taken against them so why should they care. As a result a small cabal of highly motivated activists have taken control of sections and seem to consider themselves above reproach or reprimand. They believe they can spread as much out and out propaganda (such as this article) without redress.
I will be complaining about this article (and others in future) with regard to their legal responsibilities and repercussions of their promoting false data and opinion. I recommend others to complain.
I am considering firing up the old BBC dialogue again, despite a long history of arrogant dismissals, lies, cheating and establishment support to make anything awkward go away.
Like you they have almost all over the years been factual or matters of breached professional standards. And all have had to go through the labyrinthine processes still in place, with stages thrown up as one tries to progress like traps in an Indiana Jones movie.
And that is before you get past the clear bots, human or otherwise, to a set of ‘ECU Directors’, who are paid a lot of money to have ‘beliefs’ that if disagreed with nonetheless end it all. And can shut it down on a whim.
The equally dire, and misnamed ‘Trust’, at least allowed further opportunity to secure an answer or explanation, but if getting close to making a valid point they always had the ‘this is taking us too long to blow off’ card.
Leaving OFCOM. Their ex colleagues. How can anyone rational accept the rates of complaint acceptance? Especially those making a career out of deep sixing clearly important issues using every dodgy tactic in the book?
So it was time consuming, exhausting, frustrating and, ultimately, seemingly pointless. Per design. Few if any ever knew about or registered moody acknowledgements tucked away in hidden recesses of websites, with even actual hostile competitors or ideological victims paying little heed. If actual targets could not be bothered, why should I?
Well, because ‘we’ are in a mess. And due in no small measure to a vastly over funded, unaccountable propaganda machine churning out twisted truths or outright lies when not sighing on air and popping counter quotes under interviewees even whilst they are being interviewed! Or getting in their mates to moan when it is safe later. Then editing that in.
So, enough is enough. Our MP is toast next year, and he was a Tory DCMS boss who had no problem with the policy direction of this country being run by juveniles, thugs, retards, and Jeremy Vine’s guest list filter producer.
Good riddance. The BBC and its cabal of soft power kindergarten bullies can seek gainful employ along with him.
I just have to find a way to do it. Long ago with the site owners of ‘Is the BBC biased’ blog I discussed creating a site that logged complaints in public view outside the control of the BBC. Good, bad, flippant or on point. To be debated, discussed, argued in open forum. Free to all to see. Cool light shining on the subterranean heat, with no means of suppression, or ‘interpreting events’ or ‘enhancing narratives’. Raw data; just the facts, man. What was written; no more no less, plus outcomes. And timings. The BBC utterly hate that. Look at Musk. If such a resource can be fired up BBC Verify will get funding and doubled overnight to stop it.
Th ITBB site has now sadly fallen victim to the inevitable demands of running such things, so maybe now is the time to start a new complement.
Lessons have been learned.
Your Tory MP will be replaced by what ?
At least on the BBC there is now frequent statements about averages as “what we should have”, a constant drip feed of propaganda about unusual weather.
Averages are averages of what we should have, not themselves what we should have.
Exactly. An average is a value that we may never have had.
The daily climate litany… every day a newly hatched story, drip, drip drip.
Whatever land has been lost to the sea is more than mitigated by the amount that reclamation, particularly in the east of England, wrested. The constant trail of flood photographs should provoke shame as it is self evident that those inundations are predictable, repetitive. The outcome of underfunded civil engineering and the venal demands for land provoked by a chain of governments that have falsely identified immigration as a saviour of our economy. The decades of importing workers have seen us descend into penury and the only increase witnessed in the number of social problems visited upon us through lame or non existent handling of integration.
Algal blooms are often being caused by historic over use of cheap Nitrogen fertiliser, into water bodies that are depleted by over abstraction because that’s cheaper than building new reservoirs. Unfortunately it will take decades for the excess Nitrogen to leach out of the soil.
Don’t forget sewage discharges.
I’ve just driven past my local National Trust car park (used to be my pastures), and it’s heaving with fossil-fuelled cars.
And I doubt any EV charge points! Of those that do have EV charging is Waddesdon Hall – over 1,000 parking spaces yet just 4, 16Amp (3 and a bit kilowatts) charge points.
Certainly caused chaos for this wind turbine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12906853/Astonishing-moment-Storm-Gerrit-tears-wind-turbine-apart-85mph-gales-barreled-Britain.html
Little Bucket Farm BGS borehole has been above average level since beginning of 2023, currently about 7m above seasonal average, it was below average for whole of 2022 (maximum range about 57m to 87m). Still enough to supply Shepperd Neame’s artesian well (for last 500 years about, 325 years with SN in control. Rainfall in Faversham a few inches above average this year.
https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/groundwater/datainfo/levels/sites/LittleBucketFarm.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12906853/Astonishing-moment-Storm-Gerrit-tears-wind-turbine-apart-85mph-gales-barreled-Britain.html
I thought you might like to see the attached.
Thank you for all you do!
Shepherd Neame, apologies
The BBC weather forecasts constantly try to present the coming weather as an absolute disaster, subtly lengthening their endless shots of snow, windy scenes and flooded areas.
Weather girl Carol Kirkwood wrote a little article in today’s Telegraph saying how busy she was but had to end it with a comment about the worrying climate change. I’m sure she doesn’t believe it but presumably risks being ‘retired’ early if she fails to toe the line.
It’s just basic nonsense. Longer and warmer springs and autumns are good for most wildlife, as are slightly warmer and shorter winters. This idea very short-lived wildlife is somehow confused by when spring starts is just stupid.
“Causing ‘chaos’ for nature”
Moronic anthropomorphism.
Nature blows up volcanoes. You think it gives a s#|+ about your stupid ‘incremental shifts?’
Nature is going to kill EVERYTHING living today. Nothing will survive.
It’s refreshing so many here have taken the time to refute the BBC drivel, often in considerable length and detail. One thought struck me about low water levels. When I lived in the Chiltern area the local chalk streams ebbed and flowed according to the levels of the chalk aquifers. What really hit water levels was water companies being permitted to extract vast amounts of water, rather than construct new reservoirs. That would be more expensive of course and hit profits.