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Climate change and “unsustainable human activities” are driving “unprecedented changes” to mountains and glaciers, threatening access to fresh water for more than two billion people, a UN report warns.

The 2025 UN world water development report finds that receding snow and ice cover in mountain regions could have “severe” consequences for people and nature.

Up to 60% of the world’s freshwater originates in mountain regions, which are home to 1.1bn people and 85% of species of birds, amphibians and mammals.

The report highlights a wide range of impacts, including reduced water for drinking and agriculture, stress on local ecosystems and increased risk of “devastating” glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

It also notes the deep spiritual and cultural connections that mountain-dwelling communities around the world have with mountains and glaciers, from India’s Hindu Kush Himalaya to Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

One expert tells Carbon Brief that glacier loss is already causing “loss of life, loss of livelihood and most importantly of all, the loss of a place that many communities have called home for generations”.

The report showcases a range of adaptation responses that communities are already implementing, including changing farming practices, producing better water storage systems and improving early warning systems for floods and landslides.

It also stresses the need for further funding and adaptation, as well as the importance of Indigenous knowledge and international collaboration.

Water towers

The annual UN world water development report unpacks a different aspect of “water and sanitation” each year and gives policy recommendations to decisionmakers. This year’s report focuses on mountains on glaciers, because 2025 has been designated by the UN as the “international year of glaciers’ preservation”.

Mountains are often called the world’s “water towers” due to their crucial role in the global water cycle.

Ice and snow accumulate at high latitudes every winter when temperatures are cool, before melting when summer brings warmer weather. This meltwater is an important source of water for streams – especially during hot, dry periods, when it plays a crucial role in keeping rivers flowing and providing a buffer against water stress.

It is often said that two billion people rely on mountain water from glaciers for their day-to-day needs.

The report says this figure refers to the number of people who live in drainage basins that originate in mountains – but adds that the role of glaciers in freshwater provision is “nuanced” and varies around the world.

Mountains provide 55-60% of annual freshwater flows globally – but this percentage can vary between 40% and 90% in different parts of the world, according to the authors.

Rivers including the Colorado, Nile and Rio Negro rely on water from the mountains for at least 90% of their water flow, the report says.

It adds that many of the world’s largest cities, including Tokyo, Los Angeles and New Delhi, are “critically dependent” on mountain water for a range of sectors.

The report also highlights how mountains are crucial for the power sector, with hydropower one of the main industries in mountain areas. For example, it notes that 85% of hydropower generated in Andean countries is produced in mountain areas.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of irrigated agriculture depends on the runoff contribution from mountains, according to the report.

It adds that mountain communities play a critical role in maintaining crop biodiversity and “preserve many of the rarest crop varieties and medicinal plants”.

Melting glaciers

Most water from snow and ice reserves in the mountains comes from melting snow, according to the report. However, glaciers – slow-moving rivers of ice that form from an accumulation of snow over many years – are also a key part of the mountain cryosphere.

(The cryosphere refers to frozen components of the Earth system that are at or below the land and ocean surface.)

Around 10% of the world’s land surface is currently covered by around 200,000 glaciers, which store approximately 70% of the Earth’s fresh water.

The map below marks the location of the world’s glaciers. In the field of glaciology, 19 “glacierised” regions are often used to help scientists to compare glaciers from different parts of the world. These regions are shown by the boxes and numbers.

Map showing locations of the glaciers analysed in this study in purple.
Map by Carbon Brief, based on Hugonnet et al (2021), which was reproduced in the UN water development report (2025).

The report says that “all mountain ranges” have shown evidence of warming since the early 20th century. It warns that, as global temperatures rise, more mountain precipitation will fall as rain instead of snow, causing snowpacks to thin and melt earlier in the year.

This acceleration in snowpack melt often causes river flow to increase in glacier-fed water basins and rivers in the short term. However, once the snow melts beyond a certain threshold, a “peak water” point is passed and river flow declines again.

The report says there is “strong evidence” that this “peak water” point has already been passed in the glacial-fed rivers of the tropical Andes, western Canada and the Swiss Alps.

Meanwhile, many glaciers have disappeared entirely. For example, Colombia has lost 90% of its glacial area since the mid-19th century, according to the report.

It highlights the “rapid disappearance” of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta glacier – one of the few glaciers located near the Caribbean Sea. The glacier is a source for more than 30 rivers, while also being an “irreplaceable site for biodiversity” and sacred to four different Indigenous communities, according to the report.

The plot below shows cumulative mass changes of glaciers in different world regions over 1950-2023, measured in 1,000kg per square metre. The average of all nine regions is shown by the dotted black line.

Cumulative mass changes of glaciers in different world regions between 1950-2023 compared to their 1976 masses, measured in 1000kg per square metre.
Cumulative mass changes of glaciers in different world regions between 1950-2023 compared to their 1976 masses, measured in 1000kg per square metre. Source: UN water development report (2025).

The report warns that, as the climate warms, many glaciers will “inevitably” disappear over the coming decades. It points to projections that suggest that warming of 1.5-4C will cause glaciers to lose 26-41% of their 2015 mass by 2100.

The authors also discuss the ecological consequences of warming. Mountains make up just one-quarter of the Earth’s surface, but are home to unique ecosystems and more than 85% of the world’s species of amphibians, birds, and mammals – many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

As mountains warm, ecological communities are likely to shift to higher elevations, the authors say. In addition, as warming causes the water cycle to become more “unpredictable and extreme”, many of these species will face additional stressors, they add.

Hazards

The authors warn that climate change and the “rapid and unplanned urbanisation” of mountain regions is “placing pressure on fragile mountain ecosystems, affecting water availability, quality and security”.

For example, deforestation can drive up the risk of hazards such as landslides and GLOFs – the sudden release of water from a lake formed from glacial melt – the authors say.

GLOFs have caused more than 12,000 deaths in the past 200 years, as well as causing “severe damage to farmland, homes, bridges, roads, hydropower plants and cultural assets, often prompting further internal displacement”, the report says.

It adds that the frequency of GLOFs has “increased significantly” since the 1900s. These events are expected to continue rising over the coming decades – creating “new hotspots of potentially dangerous GLOF hazards and risks”.

The report contains a section on the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, which is highly vulnerable to GLOFs. It says that glaciers here are melting faster than the global average – and warns that under global warming scenarios of 1.5-2C, glacier volume in the region may reduce by 30-50% by 2100.

The report warns that GLOFs in the region are expected to triple by the end of the century, stressing that “many of the consequences will go beyond the limits of adaptation”.

More than 60 GLOF events were recorded in the Hindu Kush over 2010-20. A recent study found that thawing permafrost played a key role in the South Lhonak Lake GLOF, which took place in 2023 in the state of Sikkim.

A man walks past flooded houses in the flood affected area along the Teesta River.
A man walks past flooded houses in the flood-affected area along the Teesta river. Credit: SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Stock Photo

Indigenous peoples

The report also emphasises the impacts of melting glaciers and snowpacks on Indigenous peoples and local communities. These groups “have long-standing connections to land and water in mountain regions, which are deeply rooted in their cultural, spiritual and subsistence practices”.

For example, glaciologist Dr Heidi Sevestre from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme told a press briefing about the “cultural and spiritual importance of these mountains and glaciers” to the Bakonzo people, who live in the foothills of Uganda’s Rensui glaciers.

Sevestre explained that this community – which has “probably one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world” – is “worried that they could be punished by their gods if the ice disappears”.

The map below shows more examples of the impacts of climate water and cryosphere changes on “Indigenous peoples and local communities in cold regions”.

Examples of the impacts of climate water and cryosphere changes on “Indigenous peoples and local communities in cold regions”.
Examples of the impacts of climate water and cryosphere changes on “Indigenous peoples and local communities in cold regions”. Source: UN water development report (2025).

Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa is a cryosphere analyst at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. He tells Carbon Brief that glaciers are “the most visible and vivid indicators of a planet in crisis”.

He adds that glacier loss is already causing “the loss of life, loss of livelihood and most importantly of all, the loss of a place that many communities have called home for generations”.

Resilience-building

Mountains have a wide range of climates, geologies and vegetation types, creating an “exceptional need” for robust systems for collecting and managing hydrological data, the report says.

However, monitoring networks in the high mountains are currently “sparse” and models are low-resolution, resulting in “uncertain” observations and predictions, it notes.

For example, only 28 of the 50,000 glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya currently have active monitoring of mass changes, the report says. Safe, accessible glaciers are often selected for monitoring, which can make observations biased, it adds.

To fill these gaps in data, the authors stress the importance of incorporating Indigenous knowledge and encouraging international collaboration.

Dr Aditi Mukherji – the director of the climate change, adaptation and mitigation impact action platform of the CGIAR – tells Carbon Brief that the report is an important call for more “adaptation efforts and funding”.

She says that mountain-dwelling communities are “already quite vulnerable due to their remote location and other developmental deficits” and are “increasingly losing their way of life due to no fault of theirs”.

Examples of adaptation are prominent throughout the report. For example, it highlights communities who are installing drainage pipes, artificial dams and early warming systems to lakes throughout the Andes to increase resilience against GLOFs.

Meanwhile, the Rhône glacier in Valais, Switzerland, has been covered in white sheets designed to keep it cool. And in Ladakh, in northern India, villagers have developed four types of “ice reservoirs” to supplement water flow for agriculture in the spring.

Ice cave of the Rhone glacier in Switzerland, covered with white tarpaulins to protect against melting.
Ice cave of the Rhone glacier in Switzerland, covered with white tarpaulins to protect against melting. Credit: Jürgen Wackenhut / Alamy Stock Photo

Sahana Subramaniam – a PhD student at Lund University’s Centre for Sustainability Studies – welcomes the attention being given to glaciers this year to mark the UN-designated “international year of glacier preservation”.

She tells Carbon Brief about a wide range of conferences, panels, workshops and meetings being organised on the topic, many of which have been interdisciplinary in nature, bringing together physical and social scientists. “It’s quite seminal that so much attention is being given to this topic this year,” she adds.

Dr James Kirkham is a glaciologist and climate scientist at the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative. He tells Carbon Brief that the UN’s focus on glaciers and mountains this year could serve as a “springboard to help political leaders focus on the multi-lateral cooperation, political leadership [and] long-term thinking”.

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Palestine: Israel’s bombing has left Gaza vulnerable to climate change

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Israel’s bombardment of Gaza during the conflict that broke out in October 2023 has wrecked progress towards adapting the enclave to climate change and left two million Gazans vulnerable to heatwaves, drought and disease, the Palestinian Authority (PA) said in a new climate plan submitted to the United Nations.

Palestine’s third nationally determined contribution (NDC), uploaded to the UN climate body’s website this week, says that while “the aggression on the Gaza Strip did not make the climate worse”, “it removed the housing, water and sanitation systems, health facilities, energy networks, roads and livelihoods through which people absorb a climate they were already struggling with.”

The 91-page document lists the types of infrastructure it says Israel has destroyed and notes how the destruction will worsen the impacts of climate change. It says the bombing of hospitals and rising hunger have make it harder for Gazans to cope with the health impacts of climate-driven heatwaves and waterborne diseases.

On beaches of Gaza and Tel Aviv, two tales of one heatwave

The destruction of water tanks, boreholes and desalination plants, meanwhile, have left Gazans struggling with the effects of water shortages and drought, while mass unemployment reduces people’s ability to afford climate-driven price rises. The erasure of most of the Strip’s homes makes it more difficult for people to avoid the sun’s increasing heat, the NDC said.

Many Gazans are now living in the ruins of collapsed buildings or in makeshift shelters and tents that offer little or no protection from high temperatures.

A displaced Palestinian child fills water containers on July 2, 2026 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

Palestine’s previous goals to cut emissions and adapt to climate change in Gaza, expressed in its last NDC five years ago, were based on a pre-war baseline that “no longer describes anything that exists”, the NDC says. Progress made since 2021 has now been destroyed, it adds.

Green reconstruction of Gaza

Instead of continuing to aim for these adaptation and emissions-reduction goals, the PA is now calling for the green reconstruction of Gaza. It says buildings should be constructed again in an energy-efficient manner with solar panels and served with modern water, waste and transport systems.

While the PA, controlled by the Fatah political party, continues to claim legitimate control of Gaza, the strip was effectively governed by Fatah’s rival Hamas between 2007 and the recent war. Control is now split between Israel and the political wing of Islamist militant group Hamas, after a US-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025, although a UN-backed committee plans to take over.

    The United Nations, European Union and World Bank have jointly estimated that Gaza needs $71.4 billion of investment in the next two years to recover and build back. This process should be Palestinian-led, they said in April.

    But US President Donald Trump has said the US should “take over” and “own” Gaza and redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East”. Israel’s right-wing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel should control the territory with civil administration managed by Palestinians favourable to Israel.

    With occupation, targets conditional

    In the other part of Palestine, the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority carries out some government functions, but ultimate control rests with Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

    Because Israel controls planning in most of the West Bank, the NDC argues that the PA cannot pursue all the climate projects it wants. In addition, Israel restricts the movement of PA officials, making data collection difficult, and controls the West Bank’s electricity supply meaning that the PA cannot control whether it comes from dirty or clean sources of energy.

    Given this situation, the NDC says that all of Palestine’s new climate targets are conditional but it will aim to reduce emissions 12.8% below a business-as-usual baseline by 2035 and 17.1% by 2040. If the Israeli occupation ends and Palestine regains full sovereignty over its land and resources, it will aim for reductions of 15.1% and 19.1% by 2035 and 2040 respectively under an “independence pathway”.

    That could allow, for example, for greater electrification and reducing emissions per unit of growth, the document said.

    To achieve the 2035 emissions-reduction target and adapt to the impacts of climate change, the PA says it needs $8.6 billion in total. This funding would be spent on measures like encouraging solar farms and rooftop solar and scaling up solar water heating to cover four-fifths of households. To complement the planned increase in solar power, the authority wants to modernise the electricity grid and install battery storage.

    In the transport sector, it aims to promote the uptake of electric vehicles, develop bus rapid transit corridors and scrap old polluting trucks and buses. In Gaza in particular, it wants to deploy 66 electric buses when the conflict ends.

    A bus rapid transit system in Sao Paulo (Flickr/EMBARQ BRASIL)

    To adapt to climate-driven drought, the NDC includes initiatives to reuse wastewater through treatment plants, build desalination plants in Gaza to remove salt from seawater, and promote irrigation for farmers.

    The new climate plan was prepared by Palestine’s Environment Quality Authority, with support from the United Nations Development Programme and the governments of Britain and Spain.

    The United Nations recognised Palestine’s statehood in 2012 and it joined the UN’s climate convention and signed the Paris climate agreement – which requires countries to submit more ambitious NDCs every five years – in 2016.

    The Israeli foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. But in late 2024, then Israeli climate envoy Gideon Behar told Climate Home News that the war and the resulting environmental destruction in Gaza was the fault of Hamas.

    The post Palestine: Israel’s bombing has left Gaza vulnerable to climate change appeared first on Climate Home News.

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    Analysis: UK solar power hits record high over summer 2026

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    Solar power generation in the UK reached a new record over the summer of 2026, as temperatures across the nation soared, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief.

    Collectively over June, July and August, solar farms and rooftops generated 8.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in the UK*, as shown in the chart below.

    Line chart showing that UK solar generation reached an all-time high during record-hot summer 2026

    Speaking to Carbon Brief, Chris Hewett, chief executive of trade association Solar Energy UK welcomed the new record, adding that it was driven by “clear skies and continued growth in deployment”.

    This surge in generation took place amid the hottest summer on record in the UK, with five heatwaves between May and August.

    Summer 2026 was the sixth sunniest on record, with more than 620 hours of sunshine, according to the Met Office. England and Wales – which experienced the most extreme heat – saw their second-sunniest summers on record.

    June 2026 was the hottest June in England since records began in 1884, according to Met Office data, while Wales and the UK as a whole experienced their second-warmest June.

    It was the driest July for England and Wales since records began in 1836, with some parts of London seeing no rain at all in the month, while Wisley in Surrey had no rain for 62 days.

    In England, temperatures peaked at 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London on 13 August.

    According to the Met Office, this summer’s record mean temperature was made 130 times more likely by climate change.

    Amid these hot and sunny months, solar power generation increased 23% from the same period in 2025. This is double the level of solar generation over the summer of 2021, according to Carbon Brief analysis.

    While solar panels can be affected by periods of extreme heat, the longer hours of daylight and higher levels of irradiation over the summer more than offset any efficiency losses.

    June, July and August all saw solar set new monthly records for solar generation – July saw the highest solar generation in a calendar month ever, with 3.3TWh meeting 15% of overall electricity demand for the month.

    As of the end of August, the total UK solar generation in 2026 stood at 17TWh – 13% higher than the same point in 2025.

    The number of solar farms and rooftop installations has grown substantially in recent years, helping to boost generation. Domestic rooftop solar accounts for around 29% of total capacity.

    In 2025, the UK’s solar capacity reached 21 gigawatts (GW) by the third quarter of the year, according to UK government figures. This is a jump of 3GW, or 18%, year-on-year, as Carbon Brief reported in January.

    (Capacity is the maximum output possible from an electricity generation, whereas generation is what was produced over a certain time period, such as a day, month or year.)

    According to the University of Sheffield, the installed solar capacity is now nearly 24GW.

    This includes nearly 172,000 solar installations that have been fitted across the UK since the start of 2026, according to recent government figures. In July alone, more than 19,800 rooftop solar panels were installed – the equivalent of one installation every two minutes.

    In total, nearly 1.7m households in the UK now have solar panels installed.

    Over 26 heatwave days this summer – periods of at least three days when temperatures exceed the Met Office’s county-level heatwave temperature threshold – UK households with rooftop solar panels avoided an estimated £86.7m in electricity costs, according to analysis by Utility Bidder.

    Talking about the surge in solar generation this summer, Hewett says:

    “[It] not only kept bills down for people with solar and batteries in their homes, but helped keep overall power prices much lower than they would have been if Britain had been relying on more gas generation during the day”.

    Despite the record generation, no new half-hourly solar power output record was set in the summer of 2026. This still stands at 15.2 megawatts (MW) on 23 April 2026.

    * This article refers to the UK throughout, but strictly relates to the island of Great Britain, made up of England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is part of the separate, all-Ireland electricity system.

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    How this summer’s heat and drought impacted crops in Europe – in six charts

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    Farmers around Europe are dealing with the aftermath of a summer of extreme heat, drought and wildfires that were exacerbated by climate change.

    Human-caused climate change is increasing the severity and likelihood of many extreme weather events around the world, which is increasing volatility for food producers.

    This summer resulted in, for example, shrunken potatoes in the Netherlands, reduced carrot harvests in France, dried-up rice fields in Italy and scorched olive groves in parts of the Mediterranean region.

    Global food prices are currently at their highest level since early 2023 due to “heatwaves and energy price dynamics”, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

    Other factors such as blocked fertiliser supplies in the Strait of Hormuz and high fuel costs have also played a role in this year’s agricultural outputs.

    In the six charts below, Carbon Brief provides a snapshot of the impact this summer’s extremes are considered to have had on crop production and yields across Europe.

    1. Most EU countries expect to see declines in cereal production this year

    2. Most countries are recording reduced crop yields

    3. Around €2bn worth of cereal losses after June heatwave

    4. UK yields of wheat, barley and oats are all due to drop in 2026

    5. Maize production in France is due to hit a four-decade low

    6. Declines in EU grains since 2025

    Article Contents

    1. Most EU countries expect to see declines in cereal production this year

    Bar chart showing that France is due to see the largest drops in cereal production in the EU in 2026. The bar chart shows that France's cereal production in 2026 has dropped -7.7 Mt of followed by Germany (-3.5 Mt), Poland (-3.2 Mt), Spain (-2.9 Mt), and Hungary (-2.6)
    Changes in cereal production in 26 EU countries between 2025 and 2026. Malta is excluded due to a lack of available data. Source: European Commission.

    France, in particular, will see heavy losses in the amount of cereals – such as wheat, barley and oats – it produces this year, according to European Commission data.

    French cereal production is expected to drop by almost 8 megatonnes (Mt) in 2026, compared to 2025.

    The chart above shows that most European countries, aside from Bulgaria, will also see production losses this year.

    Germany is due to see the second-largest losses in production, dropping by almost 4Mt compared to 2025.

    Prof Til Feike, a cropping systems expert at the Julius Kühn-Institut, says many areas in Germany and Austria, as with other parts of Europe, have been “hit hard by a long-lasting dry period in combination with record-high heatwaves”.

    This has resulted in dry grassland for animals and lower yields of maize, which is a “key fodder crop” for livestock. He tells Carbon Brief:

    “In the long run, farming must adapt better to more extreme weather conditions, not only heat and drought, but also prolonged wet periods. So, there is no one-fits-all solution for climate change adaptation.”

    2. Most countries are recording reduced crop yields

    Heat and a lack of water have “substantially worsened” crop expectations this summer in western and most of central Europe, according to a recent bulletin from the EU Joint Research Centre.

    Yields are expected to be “significantly reduced”, with local crop failures “likely” in areas such as France, southern Germany, northern and central Italy, and Hungary, it added.

    The chart below shows that yields of cereal grains – which, here, refers to the tonnes of a grain grown per hectare of land – are expected to fall in most EU countries in 2026.

    Bar chart showing that Slovakia and Austria are due to see the largest cereal yield declines in 2026. The bar chart shows that both Slovakia and Austria have seen their cereal yields drop -1.3 tonnes per hectare over 2025-26.
    Changes in cereal yields in 26 EU countries between 2025 and 2026. Malta is excluded due to a lack of available data. Source: European Commission.

    Slovakia, Austria and Hungary are expected to see the largest declines in cereal yields, reducing by more than one tonne per hectare in 2026 compared to 2025.

    The recent EU bulletin noted that irrigated crops performed well in Portugal this summer – the country with the largest yield increases. Other crops relying on rainfall showed growing signs of heat stress, it added.

    3. Around €2bn worth of cereal losses after June heatwave

    The record heatwave that hit many parts of Europe in June contributed to an estimated €2-2.3bn in cumulative grain production losses, as shown in the chart below.

    Bar chart showing that the June heatwave in 2026 led to around €2bn in cereal production losses in Europe. The bar chart shows that France is the EU country that lost the most revenue, with an estimated loss of €891 million, followed by Hungary (with an estimated loss of €444 million) and Spain (with an estimated loss of €276)
    Estimates of revenue lost due to changes in production forecasts between June and July 2026. Source: ECIU.

    The intense June heat in western Europe would have been “virtually impossible” just 50 years ago, according to a rapid climate attribution study. It was the region’s hottest June on record.

    The Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank analysed June and July 2026 grain forecasts from Coceral, a European grain traders association.

    ECIU estimated lost supply by multiplying the change in tonnes of grains between these two months by prices for harvest delivery in 28 European countries.

    Major grain producers France, Germany, Hungary and Spain accounted for 86% of the lost revenue, according to the ECIU.

    Extreme heat is also expected to have a wider economic impact across the continent. Analysis from Triodos Bank found that this summer’s extreme weather could reduce the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) by around 1% this year, or around €180bn.

    4. UK yields of wheat, barley and oats are all due to drop in 2026

    If current trends continue, the average yields for cereals and oilseeds will result in the UK’s worst harvest since detailed records began in 1984, according to ECIU.

    Line chart showing that UK cereal yields could hit lowest levels since at least 1990 this year.
    Yields of cereals and oilseed rape in the UK over 1990-2026. Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

    Barley yields could fall by 15%, oats by 14% and wheat yields by 6% year-on-year, according to 2026 harvest surveys from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, a non-departmental public body that provides agricultural data to the UK government.

    ECIU said that, even if the situation improves, this year is still expected to be one of the five worst harvests on record. This means that four of the five worst harvests in the UK have occurred in the past decade.

    Consumers will likely see higher prices and/or smaller vegetables in supermarkets as a result, Tim O’Malley, chairman of UK company Nationwide Produce, told BBC News in August.

    Other crops, such as berries, have grown successfully in the extreme heat. But the Guardian noted fears this could dip later this year “as plants become exhausted from heavy cropping during the heatwave”.

    5. Maize production in France is due to hit a four-decade low

    France has been acutely affected by this summer’s extreme weather, with more than 7,300 excess deaths during heatwaves and a record number of weather stations recording temperatures of above 40C.

    The country is the EU’s largest agricultural producer, but heat, drought and wildfires have affected many crops.

    The chart below shows that maize production is set to drop by more than one-third (35%) year-on-year.

    Line chart showing that maize production in France is due to reach lowest levels since 1980
    Maize production in France over 1980-2026. Source: Agreste.

    This could result in France’s lowest maize production since 1980, according to data from Agreste, the country’s agriculture ministry’s statistics service.

    Due to the heat, “record-early” grape harvests have also been recorded in various parts of the nation since mid-July, reported Le Monde. In some cases, this means “smaller, less juicy grapes, which will yield less wine”, explained the newspaper.

    6. Declines in EU grains since 2025

    Chart showing that EU cereal production is set to reduce by 9% in 2026.
    Production of cereal crops in Europe over 1993-2026. The “other” category includes oats, rye, sorghum, millet and buckwheat. Source: European Commission.

    Overall in the EU, data and projections indicate declines in the output of cereal grains this year.

    Cereal production is set to fall by 9% compared to 2025, according to the European Commission.

    Just one year in the past decade – 2024 – recorded lower production levels.

    Maize production is set to be particularly affected, with projections indicating a 13% drop, to 52Mt – the lowest level in the EU since 2007.

    The post How this summer’s heat and drought impacted crops in Europe – in six charts appeared first on Carbon Brief.

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