Hottest June kills UK fish and threatens insects

The UK recorded its hottest June on record which was so hot it caused unprecedented deaths of fish in rivers and disturbed insects and plants, environment groups have warned. 

Nature is being “pounded by extreme weather without a chance to recover”, the Wildlife Trusts said.

The Met Office will say later on Monday if the high temperatures were linked to climate change. 

Water UK said people also used more water with demand increasing by 25% at peak times in some areas. 

Provisional figures for June indicate that both the overall average and the average maximum temperatures were the highest on record, the Met Office said. 

“The reports of the number of fish death incidents in rivers for this time of year has been unprecedented. I would normally expect rivers to be affected later in the summer when it’s hotter and drier,” Mark Owen, from the Angling Trust, told BBC News.

The Environment Agency said it received more reports of dead fish than the same time last year.

Wildlife Trusts told the BBC that many flowering plants, including orchids, wilted in the high temperatures, meaning insects like bees and butterflies that feed on nectar and pollen will have less to eat.