Experts warn of troubling side effect following weeks of extreme heatwaves: 'Changing the way our nature reserves work'

You can probably tell. Something's off. Birds aren't as loud. Plants bloom at the wrong time. Maybe you've been tossing and turning at night, too. Turns out, it's all connected. What you're noticing isn't just a weird season — it's the heat. Unrelenting, record-breaking heat.

And while it might just feel uncomfortable at first, the bigger issue is how it's upending local ecosystems. That's when it starts to hit us.

What's happening?

As the BBC reported, prior to a July heatwave with projected temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in the U.K., experts warned of the heat's likely effect on wildlife. 

"Wildlife [is] stressed by heat that changed their behaviour on a daily basis," said Dr. Kevin Collins, a senior lecturer at the Open University. "They need to seek shade … and better access to water and food."

"Birds, in really hot weather, will fly less, which means they're not accessing food, not hydrating properly, which weakens them and causes disease and mortality," Collins noted. 

A study published by the British Ecological Society found that bees in Europe may stop pollinating altogether when temperatures spike.

The pattern repeats with other species. 

"Bumblebees will fly less," Dr. Collins explained. "And even if they get to plants, the plants will also be under stress and may not be producing as much nectar, so when the bumble bee arrives its food source may not be available."

Not every species suffers. Ants thrive in heat, which shifts the balance. "They become a good food source for woodpeckers," said Collins. 

Still, the disruption runs deep.

Why is the heatwave concerning?

Seasonal rhythms are falling apart. Dormice rely on autumn tree nuts and berries to survive winter. But those are coming earlier. 

"Food being produced early … could also impact endangered species like dormice," said Dr. Collins. Without that nutrition, "they would otherwise go into winter in ill health, impacting on the population for the following years."

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Matt Jackson, conservation director at the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust, sees the shift too. "Things like bird breeding, insects emerging, even the flowers emerging in the woodlands are starting to happen a good few weeks earlier than they used to."

He didn't mince words: "We think drought is now the biggest threat to nature reserve management across the country."

What's being done about it?

Conservation teams are adapting. "It is changing the way our nature reserves work, and we're having to try and work out how to adapt to that," Jackson said.

Some fixes are already in motion. Slope adjustments in canals have helped animals escape. Researchers have tracked suffering, death, and even changes in how animals eat, move, and rest.

When nature breaks, so do the systems we rely on.

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