英国全国农民协会主席警告，英格兰持续的干旱可能导致粮食短缺[1]。这是该地区五年内第三次干旱[1]，7月降雨量仅为气象平均值的8%[1]，严重影响了今年的农业生产。受干旱影响，英格兰的小麦高度仅为正常水平的一半[1]，收获时间比长期平均提前两到三周[1]。
干旱带来的压力进一步加重了农民的困境。约2300万人处于禁用软管令下[1]。更为严峻的是，政府补贴的取消加剧了农民的财务压力，三分之一的英国农民正在亏损或仅收支平衡[1]。全国农民协会主席表示："那些我们目前依赖的其他国家的气候也在变化。感觉上似乎会出现一些食品短缺。"[1]乡村、土地和商业协会主席则更直言地警告："对许多农民来说，这可能是他们最后的收获。"[1]
England's ongoing drought poses a serious risk to the nation's food supply, according to agricultural leaders. The National Farmers' Union chair Tom Bradshaw cautioned that "those other countries we currently rely on for food are also experiencing changing climates. It feels as though some food shortages are likely to occur."[1] This marks the third drought to strike England within five years, compounding pressures on farming communities already strained by the withdrawal of government subsidies.[1]
The severity of current conditions is evident in multiple indicators of agricultural stress. July rainfall in England reached just 8 percent of the meteorological average, leaving wheat crops at half their normal height.[1] The harvest began two to three weeks earlier than the long-term average, with England and Wales setting a record for the earliest crop collection.[1] Approximately 23 million people across England and Wales now live under hosepipe bans imposed following winter flooding that has restricted irrigation access.[1] Meanwhile, one-third of British farmers are operating at a loss or merely breaking even financially,[1] prompting Gavin Lane, chair of the Country, Land and Business Association, to warn that "for many farmers, this could be their final harvest."[1]