UK Faces Second-Worst Harvest on Record Amid Climate Change

In England, wet weather brought on by climate change has led to the second-worst harvest on record, affecting everything from wine grapes to wheat.

As The Guardian reported, a longer stretch of cold, wet weather from fall to early summer has led to wine grape harvests that are down by 33% to 75%, depending on the region. According to World Weather Attribution, rain in the UK from late 2023 into early 2024 was 20% more intense because of climate change.

For 2024, the UK Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) found that the wheat harvest in England was around 10 million metric tons, which was down 22% compared to the 2023 harvest. The decline reflects both a decrease in the wheat yield and the area that was used for wheat farming.

Other major crops also saw declines, with a decrease of 26% in barley harvested in the winter (although the spring harvest of barley saw a 41% increase). Oilseed rape production declined significantly, yielding 687,000 metric tons in 2024, a 33% decline compared to 2023. 

The wheat straw production is also expected to decline further, yielding 2.4 million metric tons and representing a 17% decline.

According to Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), England imports about half of its food, so when harvests are poor, the country must spend more to import more. But extreme heat and climate change are impacting other countries as well, leading to more strain on food security and food costs.

ECIU estimated that there could be major financial losses totaling £600 million ($784 million) on just five crops: wheat, winter barley, spring barley, oats, and oilseed rape. In total, these crops represented a 15% decline compared to 2023 and an 18% decline over the 5-year average.

“This year’s harvest was a shocker, and climate change is to blame. Whilst shoppers have been partly insulated by imports picking up some of the slack, Britain’s farmers have borne the brunt of the second worst harvest on record,” Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at ECIU, said in a statement. “It is clear that climate change is the biggest threat to UK food security. And these impacts are only going to get worse until we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, in order to stop the warming that is driving these extremes.”

Lancaster noted that the UK government will need to consider investments in sustainable agriculture to make the country’s farms more resilient to worsening threats of climate change.

Farmers have also noted their concerns over the declining yields and extreme weather events, from floods to droughts to heat waves, which have led to more worries over the remaining 2024 harvests and yields into 2025.

“We’re getting into a situation where autumn planting is becoming unviable due to flooding and spring planting is risky because of drought,” Colin Chappell, an arable farmer in Lincolnshire, said in an ECIU statement. “It is causing a lot of nervousness and uncertainty. Farmers are going to need support to see them through this and ensure they are resilient in the future. This is certainly not the time to cut the agriculture budget, this is the time to redouble our efforts and invest in policies that boost farming’s resilience, both environmentally and financially.”