UK’s Extremely Dry Start to Year Raises Crop and Wildfire Risks

The UK’s driest start to the year in four decades is threatening the country’s grain crops and increasing the risk of wildfires.

Total precipitation of about 20.5 centimeters (8.1 inches) during the first quarter was the lowest since 1985, according to Met Office data. Since then, there’s been “little appreciable” rain in the first two weeks of April, according to Lucy Barker, a senior hydrological analyst at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.