Summer ‘26 wasn’t like the other summers. From wildfires to droughts, floods to extreme heat, all nations have experienced new climate catastrophes and found new responsibilities we’ve had to bear. In the UK, we might be breathing a sigh of relief as a difficult summer comes to an end, and we may not have to worry about intense heat for a while. But the dry summer, paired with a lack of water reserves and failed crops, means that we are officially running out of water and affordable food in the UK.

Often, conversations about food are cloaked in language like “production” and “systems,” which suggests that technological and industrial forces are the only ones at play when it comes to getting the food on our shelves. What this masks, however, is that, at the most basic level, we depend wholly on the natural world for survival.

Collectively, we must internalise that food does not magically appear in the supermarket shrink-wrapped in plastic. It comes from fields and greenhouses, farms and paddies, animals and plants.

Stable food growing requires predictable weather patterns and for farmers and growers to be prepared as the seasons change, but the climate catastrophe is making this increasingly impossible.

Wake Up and Smell the Embers 

Currently, in 2026, we sit at 1.56°C (±0.09) higher than pre-industrial temperatures, with the highest month being this July. This might not sound significant, but the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has created a threshold of 1.5°C, where anything higher is disastrous for human life and ecosystems. In fact, the UN warns that it is already too late.  

The Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme, Inger Andersen, emphasises that

“there are no good outcomes if we remain above 1.5°C. Across the globe, extreme heatwaves are already proving that climate impacts will strike faster, hit harder, and last longer.” 

This is devastating – but unsurprising, as many of us have already been living through extreme temperatures. Be it the 220 hectares of wildfire in Wales or London boroughs like Havering or Walthamstow, which saw huge fires too. For the first time, we’ve seen: 

• BBQs banned in open parks and grassy gardens,  
• School students being outdoors or schools closed altogether due to extreme heat, 
• National hosepipe bans,  
• Water shortages with 71% of England in official drought status.  

For many in the UK, extreme heat and drought have forced us to recognise a climate crisis that the rest of the world has been experiencing the worst of for decades. The Yale School of the Environment diagnosed the UK with an awareness gap in the climate crisis. We’ve fallen into a perceived proximity bias to the threat of the climate crisis.

None of the landslides in Indonesia that wiped out an endangered species; fires that destroy Maui towns; the melting Himalayas and frequent glacial collapse; chronic smog in Pakistan; and droughts in Somalia mattered until it was experienced in the Western world. 

Suddenly, the climate crisis is real, and it has been cemented that we will, in fact, suffer the symptoms of an atmosphere with a greater concentration of carbon. Soberingly, this is just the beginning of the frequency of climate catastrophes as predicted in the 2015 Projections of future floods and hydrological droughts in Europe under a +2°C global warming.  

The El Niño weather phenomenon (where seawater warms up due to strong winds in the tropical Pacific)  is “adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming” – according to Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus. Warmer seas mean stronger hurricanes and tsunamis, stronger heatwaves, shrinking ice caps, higher sea levels and greater risk of flooding.

Just this year, we’ve seen flash flooding in Nepal-Tibet at the end of August, with regular flooding episodes in Pakistan, Bangladesh and China that are deadly, killing crops and people in the immediate aftermath. Whilst flooding, hurricanes and tsunamis have long been a regular occurrence in Asia and the Americas, heatwaves and droughts are now the new norm for countries like Britain too.

Come Rain or Shine, the UK is Behind. 

This heatwave exposed how underprepared the UK’s food and water systems are – despite farmers raising concerns about the drop in yields. This year, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) announced that the UK’s arable harvest is 1.35 million tonnes lower than predicted in March 2026. Chris Jaccarini, food economist at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), comments that

“food production is on the front line of climate change”, as farmers were not expecting such a severe drought and poor harvest.

These are factors which cause the spike in the cost of food, and Jaccarini warns that it will only get steeper as greenhouse gases become more concentrated. Tom Lancaster, Analyst of Land, Food and Farming for AHDB, emphasises that this is not an anomaly, this is the third awful harvest in a row.  

Farms and growers have been raising the alarm to the government for decades about the drop in yields due to climate change, yet they were given no subsidies and funding. Now, the crisis is realised and manifested. The Food Foundation issued a press release on the 19th of August pointing the finger at the government and their lack of investment in the horticultural sector. Consequently,

the UK is heavily dependent on imports for food when 50% of the UK’s most purchased fruits and 95% of veggies can be grown domestically.

Currently, however, we import 80% of our fruit and 47% of our vegetables.

What’s (My) Food Got To Do With It? 

Of the top 20 countries that the UK imports the most fruit and vegetables from, 90% are moderately to severely vulnerable to climate change. 40% of Britain’s overall food is imported, and if 90% of these countries are suffering, then it is definitely our problem. 

Food Policy expert Tim Lang warns of our food chain’s vulnerability to shock. The threats of shock are numerous, and Lang explores them in his National Preparedness Commission report here. As the cost of growing food, watering and exporting increases due to an uninhabitable climate, our import costs will rise, and the volume of produce imported will fall. Experts like Lang and Costelloe highlight that we are also relying on the fact that neighbouring countries may still want to share their produce. We may find ourselves stranded due to the cost and infrequency of possible harvesting. Countries may not be able to afford to feed abroad, and focus their harvests domestically. 

An insecurity that results from the regular droughts is that the cost of safe water for farming and growing will increase. Aquifers will not capture enough water, triggering the construction of major water supply reservoirs across Europe. Farmers in the UK as well as Italy, Hungary and France have lost a significant volume of their harvest this year due to the long, unpredicted droughts. James Pullen, a potato grower in Somerset, was facing £200,000 losses due to his produce appearing bruised or not growing at all. 

In many continents, key rivers have dried up, raising alarm bells between farmers and non-farmers.

Hungary is now facing an unprecedented energy crisis that has forced the country to shut down all but one of its Danube-cooled nuclear reactors for the first time in 44 years.

With droughts prevalent for key exporters, already struggling farmers will have to hike up costs to make ends meet for the losses. Some fruit and vegetables require a lot more water, like cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber, strawberries, and peaches. If there is less moisture in the soil due to droughts, root vegetables like parsnips, carrots and potatoes will also struggle to grow. If there are constant water shortages, we can expect to see fewer fruit and vegetables on shelves or pay more for the ones available.

  Why Did The Chicken Cross the Sea? 

Due to a lack of grass and fodder for British cows and chickens, and the scorching temperatures, the livestock which we depend on for meat, milk, cheese, butter and eggs have whittled away. It is becoming difficult to maintain the milk and egg production necessary for the nation – a reason why eggs have soared in price since the shortage began in 2022. Unfortunately, the solution of importing eggs and poultry from Brazil brought even more health risks to British consumers, with a salmonella outbreak from the imports in August 2026. 

Dairy cows typically start to suffer from heat stress when temperatures are higher than 25°C, and this year, temperatures went up to 38°C!

Farmers have reported milk yields down by 10%-15% due to this. This is the biggest decline in 5 years for the UK. 

Droughts can cause a fall in production and livestock, but it can also exacerbate the spread of disease. Higher temperatures from El Niño create the conditions for the spread of airborne disease from other regions. This season, farmers have had to keep an eye out for Bluetongue in cattle and sheep which are coming from tropical regions to temperate regions. Bluetongue-carrying biting midges are likely to survive in the animals due to the UK’s distinct seasons. The longer summers and warm autumns create the ideal environment for midges to live longer and incubate faster.  

If we can’t keep our livestock alive and well in these temperatures, there is little hope in the future for reliably safe and affordable staples. As well as losing reliable, fresh produce, we are at risk of losing basic necessities like eggs and milk. 

Cost of Cooking Crisis 

This year alone, we’ve had five heatwave episodes, worsening the state of our already fragile food system. Farmers and experts warn us of a future with a loss of staple produce like tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries and carrots. If this year’s harvests have been failing, it means preparation for next year’s growing season is at a huge risk because harvests are important for seed saving to ensure a better yield for the coming growing year. 

Harvests are also important for stockpiling for the winter feed, both for animals and humans. Historically, people would store the summer’s harvests in the form of pickles, fermentation and drying out. All cultures across the globe have a method of storing the harvest from summer. Over time, as harvests continue to be weak or become unsalvageable, we will lose crucial foodstuffs. Tinned tomatoes, pickles, canned fruit, kimchi, curry, miso, and soybean pastes will become dearer. On average, it’ll be the global majority communities once again who bear the brunt of the climate crisis. 

Separation of Food and State

Without a doubt, it is the government’s responsibility to support the nation with food affordability and provision. However, we see grassroots projects, places of worship, even supermarkets doing more for people getting food than the government. Cafes and supermarkets give their excess produce and raise money for already strained food banks. 

The Right to Grow is a political campaign that is asking councils for the right to grow food on public land. It started in Hull in 2023 and is gaining traction in London. The city is one of the hottest places, with fewer people able to get outside and grow food due to work commitments and a lack of private gardens. If we were to have the right to grow in all major cities, towns and villages, more people would have access to free or affordable food and meals. It would be a significant asset to all communities and biodiversity in the face of the climate crisis and food crisis. Pam Warhurst founded Incredible Edible, which made room for the Right to Grow campaign to begin. Her vision is that,

“if you harness a different approach to investment in people and land, you get better outcomes for people and the planet.”

If more communities had accessibility to places where food can be grown and prepared, we would be able to create our own localised food system. The aim is to have small, manageable gardens where yields are high in as many neighbourhoods as possible. The average working-class household doesn’t have time to tend to fields and find organic alternatives to staple foods as the crisis deepens. In fact, they may have to work longer hours to afford a life in the climate crisis, with a higher cost of energy to cook and heat their home.

In this case, local gardens can become the place for affordable, healthy produce, if not completely free, with seasonal seed swaps and sowing sessions to teach vital life skills.

It may be that due to the cost of cooking ‘western’ staples like potatoes and chard, cultural foods like gourds, lady fingers, aubergines and chillies aren’t prioritised. Setting up skill-sharing workshops with our elders will give the chance for people to learn how to nurture cultural plants and to store harvests in jars, by pickling, fermenting or drying.

Sharing harvests, seeds and recipes in these spaces could prevent the loss of key cultural foods.

Localising community gardens with funding and shelter to come together after work, or drop by and take from, resolves only some of the stress the food system is facing. We would have to resist to maintain and keep our community growing spaces to help people survive through a climate crisis. Furthermore, making food growing a core curriculum for schools to ensure future generations can access organic and fresh food is a radical, but necessary step. 

We won’t resolve the crisis independently, nor can we force big corporations and governments to restrict their carbon emissions and stop the deforestation of native trees which make way for data centres and palm oil production.

The fact of the matter is that the average household is not responsible for the sharp spike in global temperatures and loss of biodiversity, but community resilience and mobilisation is crucial in a time like this.

Communities of all backgrounds and generations must be able to grow their own food, become self-resilient and autonomous with a localised food economy, rather than fall prey to the rising costs of living. This may not create 100% self-sufficiency for the UK; however, it gives locals, working-class families and those dependent on food banks a chance to access fresh, organic foods in a climate where basic necessities are getting harder to find on supermarket shelves. 

In a climate of conflict, crisis and cost of living, I hope that people power is the answer for survival and that we exercise our privilege and reach out a hand of support to those who will bear the brunt of the climate crisis.

Allah ﷻ tells us that, “whoever saves a life, it is as if they saved all of humanity.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:32)

Supporting local food-growing communities is important, as they are some of the rare places where people are supported, fed and cared for, with little cost for the consumer.