Environment's winners and losers after mild, wet weather in 2024 This year's climate was good news for parts of the country's environment, but for some wildlife the weather's effect was negative, the National Trust has said.
Grey seals established their first colony in Suffolk, at Orford Ness, in a sign of the species' continued recovery, with the seals thought to have chosen to breed there due to the low risk of disturbance in the remote spot and as numbers spilled over from other colonies along the coastline.
The wet and cool spring hit insects, with butterfly numbers much lower than normal, and some previously recorded species not seen at all at some National Trust properties.
Heather at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, East Anglia, home to species including nightjar, woodlark and adders, had suffered a 60% loss due to extreme heat and drought conditions in 2022.
We look at the winners and losers of the wet and mild weather seen over the past year.
