An exceedingly rainy start to 2026 is alarming United Kingdom farmers, who worry they'll be powerless to prevent their crops from rotting in the wet ground. 

What's happening?

The Financial Times reported on the wet start to the year, which especially affected Southern England. Some areas, like Reading, received rain for 32 consecutive days, which is the longest rain streak in over a century. A "strong and unusually southerly jet stream" was the culprit, per the Met Office.

FT also noted that the region is experiencing its sixth-rainiest January in over 200 years. The situation has led to concern for farmers, who are wary that their crops will be ruined by the excess water and their animals will be at risk.

They also pointed to how pinballing extreme weather events are becoming the norm.

"We seem to go from one disaster to the other," Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, told FT. "At the moment we are talking about flooding, but in a few months we'll be talking about drought."

Why is Southern England's extreme rainfall important?

This excessive rainfall poses a problem for farmers that is later felt by consumers in higher prices. There are potentially ruined crops that can waste away the growers' hard work and investment.

There's also the impact of their animals. Uncontrolled flooding means they need to bring the animals inside to protect them from the conditions. That costs them more, as maintaining livestock indoors is more expensive, and they still have to pay for their fields. It also threatens the animals' welfare if the flooding gets out of hand. 

The challenging conditions are mounting for English farmers, who struggled in 2025 amid a summer filled with heat waves and droughts. Despite the massive rains, their impacts are still being felt. Many reservoirs were still below average water levels for the time of year, revealing how severe last year's drought was. 

What's being done about England's increased extreme weather?

In the short term, farmers want the U.K. government to help them deal with flooding and drought threats as well as invest in water management.

While it's too early to determine just how much of this rainfall can be attributed to rising global temperatures, scientists are linking more extreme U.K. weather to that factor. Warmer winters lead to wetter ones as warmer air contains more moisture. 

With that in mind, finding ways to reduce pollution that contributes to rising temperatures is of the utmost importance. The U.K.'s transition away from oil and gas to wind and solar can play a role, as can electrifying transportation.

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