While the dry, sunny spring may have been great for sowing and plant establishment following a wet winter, the prolonged dry weather is now causing serious concerns for growers.
Many vegetable growers began irrigating in April to help crops establish, but with some long-term forecasts predicting a long hot summer this year, there are already concerns about potential water availability later in the season.
The Met Office has confirmed that April 2025 saw the most sunshine in the UK since records began 115 years ago – with 47 per cent more hours of sunshine than the long-term average. Average total rainfall across the UK this spring has been 80mm, compared to a long-term average of 229mm, making it the driest spring on record. The recent good weather follows England’s wettest 18-month period between October 2022 and March 2024.
Ian Lisk, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, commented, “Weather typically moves across the UK from west to east, but the north-south amplification of the jet stream has enabled areas of high pressure to hang around in the vicinity of the UK. It is a bit unusual for it to have been this persistent, and with the consequences of it bringing the very, very dry spring we’ve had.”
Farmers and growers across the country have spent May warning that if we do not get significant rainfall soon, the yield and quality of crops will be affected. There are also concerns about dry crops and foliage leading to an increased risk of fire. Alan Hutton, chair of Hampshire’s National Farmers’ Union, told the BBC, “Farming is an extraordinarily risky occupation. I want to reassure the public there is not going to be a food shortage this year, but please if you’re coming to the countryside, treat it with respect.
“It is going to be very, very dry this summer, so please don’t go smoking and throwing cigarettes out the window and that sort of thing – it is your food supply after all.”
Following the first meeting of the National Drought Group in May, the Environment Agency warned that the country faces a medium risk of drought this summer. “The last two years were some of the wettest on record for England but drier conditions at the start of this year mean a drought is a possibility and we need to be prepared,” said Environment Agency deputy director of water, Richard Thompson. “The changing climate means we will see more summer droughts in the coming decades.”
Mixed farmer and pumpkin grower David Phillips, of Clearwell Farm, near Cardiff, told BBC presented Naga Munchetty that a brief rainstorm on 13 May had allowed him to plant new season pumpkins today without irrigation. “I believe the climate and seasons have become much more erratic during my life. We had to rush out last night and put some herbicide on a field, that wouldn’t have worked without the rainfall,” he warned.
