☀️ The hot, dry summer is having major impacts on people, nature & water resources. 🚜 Farmers harvesting crops early 🔥 Wildfire and algal bloom risks increasing 💧 Millions of people facing restrictions on water use 📉 Low river flows in many rivers UK Water Resources Portal: ukwrp.ceh.ac.uk

How can rainwater chemistry help us better understand air quality, ecosystem health & water resources? UKCEH West Africa Office and the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science-KNUST are hosting a seminar and workshop exploring the science and application of atmospheric deposition. 💧🧪 1/

The largest global assessment of its kind has shown that plant diversity increases populations of predators to suppress pests before they cause significant crop damage. See the open access study in Science Advances: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680 1/

Climate change is making wildfires more frequent and severe, putting communities at greater risk. As well as destruction of property, smoke travels vast distances, threatening health and forcing mass evacuations. 📹 Dr Doug Kelley, co-author of the annual State of Wildfires report 1/

The drought affecting many parts of the UK is 'remarkable' for how quickly it has progressed, Jamie Hannaford, head of water resources and drought at UKCEH says. Much of central, southern and eastern areas of England are now in drought, joining North Wales and the Upper Severn. 🧪 1/

Summer reading with our July newsletter, out now! Top stories include: ☀️ A year of weather whiplash 💽 Environmental Data Science Toolbox 💚 Nature-positive pathways 🔵 UK saltmarsh finance day and much more... Read it here: mailings.ceh.ac.uk/july-2026-ne... 🧪 1/

Tomorrow, @rachelapayne.bsky.social & @istanton.bsky.social are travelling to Brisbane for #EDAR8 next week, hosted by SAAFE CRC They will both be presenting in the antifungal session on Thursday (11am-1pm) 🧫🍄 @ukceh.bsky.social

Why DAGs aren't just for causal inference and should often represent the observation process Check out our new paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.co... @r-cooke.bsky.social, Gary Powney and @sacrevert.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

Why your DAG should probably incorporate sampling and measurement processes

Insect scientists are starting to use Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) to display assumptions about causal relationships between variables that exist be…

sciencedirect.com

Summer update 🌞🌷💮 Check out what we've been up to ⬇️ @ukceh.bsky.social

We are hiring - Project officer ‘Identifying the impact of recent fragmentation of common toad (Bufo bufo) populations in England’ a partnership project with @froglife.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social jobs.theguardian.com/job/10160175...

Through the National Capability for Global Challenges programme, UKCEH is supporting the people, skills and partnerships needed to tackle climate and environmental challenges worldwide. Find out how we're helping build scientific capacity around the world: www.ceh.ac.uk/case-studies... 🌍🧪

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of conditions conducive to wildfire. Higher temperatures and low rainfall dry out vegetation and extend the period during which fuels are flammable. Read the latest State of Wildfires report (from October 2025). stateofwildfires.com

Registration and submissions OPEN for presentations and posters for NEMC 2026, deadline 18 Sept. This year’s focus: turning the UK’s shared vision for environmental monitoring into coordinated action. Learn more: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/nemc2026

How can science support the future of farming? At Groundswell, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh met UKCEH researchers demonstrating AI biodiversity monitoring, water resource forecasting, whole-farm environmental assessments and emissions monitoring. Learn more: www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...

Do you have an idea or prototype for how we can advance hydrological monitoring? 🌊 ⚙️ Bring your ideas to FDRI's Innovation Session at #BHS2026 on 2 September! This opportunity is open to all, including non-ticket holders. Learn more and submit your idea here: fdri.org.uk/events/BHS-F...

New study shows that heat-induced restrictions on global photosynthesis are worsening, threatening ecosystem productivity worldwide. Areas suffering heat stress have expanded 57% in 22 years; 90%+ vegetated areas showing only partial acclimation to rising temps academic.oup.com/nsr/article/... 🧪

Increasingly severe thermal stresses on global photosynthesis using insights from observations of canopy temperature

Satellite-derived canopy temperatures reveal a rapidly escalating heat threat to global photosynthesis over the past 22 years. Although vegetation can part

academic.oup.com

For the last few weeks I've had a @ukceh.bsky.social AMI moth device set up in Epping Forest. It has photographed a very different selection of moths to what I'm used to seeing in my garden. I'm collecting new data as I develop my Moth x Human project for 2027. Next stop @kneppwilding.bsky.social

Exciting that more Moth x Human is in development @elliewilsonuk.bsky.social 🎶

Ellie Wilson@elliewilsonuk.bsky.social · 2w ago

For the last few weeks I've had a @ukceh.bsky.social AMI moth device set up in Epping Forest. It has photographed a very different selection of moths to what I'm used to seeing in my garden. I'm collecting new data as I develop my Moth x Human project for 2027. Next stop @kneppwilding.bsky.social

New study shows that heat-induced restrictions on global photosynthesis are worsening, threatening ecosystem productivity worldwide. Areas suffering heat stress have expanded 57% in 22 years; 90%+ vegetated areas showing only partial acclimation to rising temps academic.oup.com/nsr/article/... 🧪

Increasingly severe thermal stresses on global photosynthesis using insights from observations of canopy temperature

Satellite-derived canopy temperatures reveal a rapidly escalating heat threat to global photosynthesis over the past 22 years. Although vegetation can part

academic.oup.com

Fascinating study showing how public access (especially footpaths) and habitat availability interact, and what this means for interpreting butterfly records

Rob Boyd@robboyd.bsky.social · 2w ago

What has a greater effect on the number of butterfly records across Devon and Cornwall: habitat or public access? Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

What has a greater effect on the number of butterfly records across Devon and Cornwall: habitat or public access? Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

Causal Analysis Reveals That Public Access to Land Can Shape Our View of Species' Geographic Distributions

Aim Citizen science data are widely used to study species' distributions. Using butterfly observations from South-West England, we sought to better understand what shapes the spatial footprint of re...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Learn about our (@ukceh.bsky.social) on global environmental challenges “Net Zero and beyond: measuring climate risks, managing trade‑offs, and enabling adaptation” An online conference Wednesday 22nd July www.tickettailor.com/events/ukcen...

Reserve a spot – Net Zero and beyond: measuring climate risks, managing trade‑offs, and enabling adaptation – Microsoft Teams

Net Zero and beyond: measuring climate risks, managing trade‑offs, and enabling adaptation – Microsoft Teams, Wed 22 Jul 2026 - Join us to discover the advancements in science made through our Nationa...

tickettailor.com

Great to be working with BGS and international colleagues on a fascinating new project to better understand mountain water systems 💧. UKCEH's Lindsay Newbold will be using eDNA as a tracer to reveal where water is flowing ⤵️

British Geological Survey (@bgs.ac.uk)

Emerging research is beginning to challenge the conventional understanding of mountain water systems. A new BGS-led project is using new methods to understand how water moves from mountains to the lowlands, helping to improve water security for billions of people. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/delving-deep-into-mountains-for-future-water-security/

bsky.app

It's not just about the bees, but all the pollinators! 🐝🪰🦋🪲 #BeesNeedsWeek, which has been running this week, is an annual event to highlight the importance of these vital insects and the ways we can help them thrive. 👀 What small changes have big impacts for pollinators?

Offsetting is widely promoted but poorly founded in ecology Our modelling study shows: effective offsetting requires restored areas larger than those impacted & protection over long timescales high habitat conversion rates reduce offsetting success conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The 2025 State of the UK Climate report highlights how rapidly the UK's climate is changing The report, with input from UKCEH, puts the year and decade into historical context. 2025 was the UK’s warmest year on record and there has been warming of ~0.25°C per decade since the 1980s. 1/

It was buzzing at the #BeesNeedsWeek Science Festival at RHS Wisley. Visitors discovered how easy it is to support pollinator science by spending 10 minutes counting pollinating insects on flowers 🐝🌼 Take time in nature with your own FIT Count for @pomscheme.bsky.social ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts

Want to get involved with the Environmental Data Science Toolbox? We’re increasing visibility, connecting methods with data and communities, and driving FAIR, cross disciplinary workflows. New in 2026: Stronger governance + Jupyter Book v2. Explore: www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med... 🧪

Developing the NC-UK Environmental Data Science Toolbox together

The Environmental Data Science Toolbox is a shared, open resource, designed to improve the discoverability, accessibility, and reuse of environmental data science methods.

ceh.ac.uk

Really pleased @ukceh.bsky.social have had the opportunity to add hydrology into the state of the @metoffice.gov.uk UK Climate report for the first time - reporting on the impact of last year's drought (summer 2026 shaping up to be quite something too...) and how river flows are changing over time.

Met Office - weather and climate@metoffice.gov.uk · 3w ago

The Met Office State of the UK Climate report for 2025 demonstrates how climate extremes are becoming the new normal for the UK. Published today by Wiley in @rmets.org More details in the news release: bit.ly/4eZCnV4 Read the thread for some of the report’s key findings ⬇️🧵1/

June's UK Hydrological Summary shows a month of two halves: above-average rainfall early, then heatwave/extreme heat warnings. By end June river flows were above normal in north-west UK and S Wales; mostly normal or below elsewhere but notably low flows in eastern Scotland & East Anglia 1/