Summer Heat!

Over the last week the hot weather has been all across the news with record breaking temperatures recorded across all 4 nations of the UK in the last couple of days. However, the dry weather is a theme that has been on going since the start of the year. 

We installed a weather station on the island in November last year and it is already beginning to yield some interesting results. The weather station will allow us to establish long-term data sets on the NNR and enable us to see trends develop as the climate changes. It will also allow us to cross analyse the weather data with other research such as hydrological data and bird numbers to discover if there is a significant correlation between different variables. For a comparison the Met Office 30 - year average at Boulmer has been used, as this is the closest station with a reliable long-term data set.

Rain

Total rainfall to date in 2022 is 151mm at Lindisfarne NNR compared to an expected 30-year long term average of 246.8mm. This means Lindisfarne NNR is running 95mm below average or 62% of rainfall in 2022 so far. The only month that ran above average was February with January being particularly dry as can be seen in the table and graph below.

Rainfall 2022 (mm)	Lindisfarne	Boulmer 30-year average	% Lindisfarne
January	11.6	58	20%
February	46.6	43.98	106%
March	25.8	47.81	54%
April	42	51.79	81%
May	37.4	45.09	83%

Graph showing 2022 monthly rainfall compared to Boulmer long term average.

The low rainfall has left the dunes tinderbox dry needing only a spark to ignite. We have already experienced 2 wildfires on the Reserve this year, a highly unusual occurrence with only one other wildfire noted in the previous 20 years. Thanks to working with Northumbria Fire Service and the Coast Guard these fires were put out relatively quickly and didn't spread too far. However, we have still lost 3 acres of important dune grassland where ground nesting birds would have been incubating eggs or feeding chicks and scarce botany blooming.

Fire risk signs are in place around the Reserve

Burn scar in the dunes from the fire last month

The fire risk is still incredibly high even after the scorching temperatures have cooled. With the rainfall deficit it is going to take a significant amount of sustained downpours to reduce the risk. This is a reminder to stick to the byelaws when visiting the Reserve. We do not permit any BBQs, any naked flames of any kind and don't discard any cigarettes. It can take only a single spark and the fire can get out of control incredibly quickly.