The UK’s National Trust has reported alarming declines in insect populations and seabird species in 2024, attributing the losses to unstable weather patterns driven by the ongoing climate crisis.
Bees, butterflies, moths, and wasps have seen significant drops in numbers, while seabirds, including the globally threatened Arctic tern, have been severely affected by the unpredictable conditions.
In its annual report on the weather’s impact on flora and fauna, the trust painted a grim picture of the year’s ecological health.
The report highlighted “shocking” declines in biodiversity, with diseases affecting species such as the white-clawed crayfish and sycamores compounding the crisis.
Numbers of bees and butterflies “crashed” in several regions of the UK during 2024, particularly during the cool and wet first half of the summer, it said.
In Somerset’s Barrington Court gardens, butterflies were nearly absent until late August or early September.
A stark example of the decline comes from west Dorset, where only 92 adonis blue butterflies were recorded in a regularly monitored area, compared to 552 in 2023.
Seabirds have been hit particularly hard, with populations struggling to cope with the rapidly changing climate.
The decline of the Arctic tern, a globally threatened species, was singled out as particularly concerning.
Ben McCarthy, the trust’s head of nature conservation and restoration ecology, described the year’s weather as swinging from prolonged dry conditions in 2022 and much of 2023 to an exceptionally wet and mild 2024, punctuated by fierce storms.
“The unpredictability of the weather and blurring of the seasons is adding additional stresses to our struggling wildlife,” he said. “The overall trends are alarming.”
Despite the grim findings, there were some positive developments.
A new grey seal breeding colony was established on the east coast of England, marking a significant milestone for the species. Encouraging numbers of owls and other birds of prey were also observed, offering rare glimmers of hope.