05/07/06
Farmers should act now to cope with the effects of the wetter
winters and drier summers predicted due to global warming, according
to a top weather expert.
Robert Wharton -
“We would all do well to heed the warnings.”
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The effect on growing seasons for UK farmers will become starker,
not least in terms of their water usage, warned Dr Julian Mayes,
senior meteorologist at the Press Association Weather Centre.
Speaking at the annual farming conference of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), Dr Mayes said globally
the ten warmest years on record had all occurred since 1990, with
the five warmest occurring since 1998.
Currently barely 20% of greenhouse gases were created by the agricultural
industry yet the effects upon the industry would be greater than
most, as the UK gets warmer.
“Predictions suggest that the effect of increased CO2 emissions
upon the agricultural sector will be that of increased water efficiency,
but a key challenge will be that of ensuring supplies of water
remain available through summer,” said Dr Mayes.
“It is also clear that the UK will experience greater regional
variations in temperatures and water availability which will be
starkest between the North West and the South East.”
This could lead to crops requiring more irrigation being grown
in the North West, instead of the South East, where rainfall levels
are lower.
“On-farm water storage will become more important and we
may also find far more instances of crops requiring high irrigation
being grown in the North West to try to reduce the effects of water
shortages,” said Dr Mayes.
“We may also witness waterlogged fields in winter, but summer
droughts, so efficient water management will be vital for farmers”
He added: “To put scenarios of future climate change in perspective,
we could contrast the warming suggested by models of 1.5 to 2 degrees
Celsius over the next fifty years in southern England with the
warming of the last 100 years which is of the order of just 0.7
of a degree Celsius.”
Robert Wharton, farming partner at Dodd & Co, Carlisle, who
represents Cumbria on the ICAEW’s Farming & Rural Business
Group, said: “It is important that rural businesses adapt
their practices now to cope with the effects of climate change.
“We would all do well to heed the warnings.”
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