UK chips an inch shorter after summer heatwave - report

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/05/uk-chips-an-inch-shorter-after-summer-heatwave-report

UK chips an inch shorter after summer heatwave – report

Damian Carrington Environment editor

Tue 5 Feb 2019 06.00 GMT


The British chip has been left an inch shorter by the 2018 heatwave, according to a report on the risks to UK fruit and vegetable growing from climate change. The spell of baking summer weather was made 30 times more likely by global warming and left spuds substantially smaller than usual. Yields of carrots and onions were also sharply down.

Recent years have seen winter deluges cause flooding, severe late frosts and dry summers, all of which make the precarious job of growing fruit and vegetables even harder. Climate change is already making extreme weather more likely and, with projections indicating severe water stress in key parts of England, some growers fear for their future.

The report, Recipe for Disaster, was produced by The Climate Coalition, which brings together 130 organisations including WWF, the National Trust, the Women’s Institute and Christian Aid, and represents more than 15 million UK members. The report calls for urgent reductions of carbon emissions and food waste by, for example, eating more wonky veg.

The summer of 2018 was the joint hottest on record, with some places not seeing any rain for 58 days. The lack of water resulted in the fourth lowest potato harvest in the last 60 years.
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