Heat, drought and wildfire: how extreme conditions pushed nature to breaking point in 2025 The National Trust warns these are ‘warning signs we cannot afford to overlook’ as climate breakdown intensifies pressure on wildlife

Set between storms Éowyn and Bram, the UK experienced a sunny, dry spring and summer that sparked intense heathland and moorland fires, followed by torrential autumn rainfall that caused widespread flooding, The Daily Baku reports.

The National Trust, which releases a yearly Christmas review examining how weather patterns influence wildlife, said the year represented a dramatic chain of extremes that challenged nature’s resilience more severely than at any time in modern records.

Ben McCarthy, the organisation’s head of nature conservation, said: “Heat, drought and fire define 2025.

“Extreme weather is not a new phenomenon, but the cumulative impact of several drought years occurring close together – 2018, 2022 and now 2025 – is placing immense stress on habitats and making survival increasingly difficult for wildlife. These are warning signals that cannot be ignored, and we must respond faster, smarter and with far greater coordination.”

Human-caused climate breakdown is intensifying extreme weather across the globe, resulting in disasters that are more frequent and more deadly, from heatwaves and flooding to wildfires. Scientists state that at least a dozen of the most extreme events of the past ten years would have been virtually impossible without human-driven global heating.

Wildfires inflicted especially serious damage. In April, a fire on Abergwesyn Common in mid Wales spread across more than 5,000 hectares of peatland, wiping out habitats for small mammals, reptiles and birds, including golden plover, skylark, raven, red kite, common lizard, common frog, field vole and rare dragonfly species such as the black darter. Rangers warned that the ecological impacts will last for decades.

Further north in Wales, concerns emerged that tufted saxifrage might vanish from the slopes of Eryri (Snowdonia) due to extreme heat. The trust said only seven plants were known to remain. Fortunately, they narrowly survived.

Even regions unaffected by fire saw species harmed by high temperatures, including birds of prey and owls. Populations collapsed in parched grasslands at the Mottisfont estate in Hampshire and the Sherborne estate in Gloucestershire.

Extended periods of low rainfall left streams and ponds dangerously reduced or completely dry at locations such as Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, while at Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, breeding ponds for great crested newts disappeared. Along the Merseyside coast, Formby’s natterjack toads failed to produce any toadlets.

The trust said extreme weather also continued to place unprecedented strain on trees.

Recently planted saplings experienced losses of up to 40%, far exceeding the expected 10–15%, while mature trees showed stress through early leaf drop, falling branches and duller canopy colours.

Oak trees, already threatened by acute oak decline, were less able to withstand repeated dry years, particularly in the Midlands and eastern England, where rainfall is lowest.

Several seabird species also struggled. Arctic tern nesting numbers at Long Nanny in Northumberland dropped by 30%, while puffin populations fell by a third on the Farne Islands off England’s north-east coast.

The mild, wet autumn triggered unusual secondary growth spurts in many plants. At Newark Park in Gloucestershire, staff observed woodland holly flowering in November, while summer-flowering harebell was blooming in the Peak District in Derbyshire at the same time.

Other unexpected scenes included apple trees flowering in Nottinghamshire and Herefordshire during September and October, and roses still blooming in Hampshire as late as December.

Some animals also appeared out of sync with seasonal patterns. Bats and brimstone butterflies remained active in Suffolk in November, while jackdaws, hooded crows and rooks were assembling and rebuilding rookeries at Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland months earlier than usual.

Despite the severe conditions, a small number of species benefited. So-called “generalist” animals such as grey seals, carrion crows and speckled wood butterflies prospered due to their adaptability to warmer temperatures and ability to survive on a varied diet.

It was also a strong year for berries and nuts in many regions. Dunham Massey in Cheshire recorded the largest acorn crop in living memory, while hedgerows across the South Downs and Chilterns in southern England were laden with berries.

The trust highlighted successful restoration efforts such as the “stage 0” project at the Holnicote Estate on Exmoor in south-west England, where the creation of a diverse wetland has enabled species including water voles, great white egrets and flocks of goldfinches to thrive.

At Holnicote, one of the UK’s rarest butterflies, the heath fritillary, experienced a remarkable recovery, with more than 1,000 individuals recorded across 13 sites, compared with around 600 the year before.

McCarthy said: “While adaptable species are managing to survive, those with specialist needs are declining at speed. The growing homogenisation of the wider countryside is accelerating this trend. Protected areas such as SSSIs [sites of special scientific interest] can no longer act as a safety net; they are too small and too fragmented to function as a viable ecological network. Without urgent, coordinated and effective action, the decline of nature will continue."