Thought you were hot? Peas are latest heatwave victims

The long, hot summer just got better for a lot of children.

Along with the joys of days at the beach and splashing in paddling pools comes news that the heatwave is disrupting production of peas – often an unpopular item on a youngster’s dinner plate.

The lack of rain has led to Scots farmers predicting a shortage of the vegetable, with plants attacked by pests and pods drying out.

The hot and dry weather – with temperatures more than ten degrees above average – has meant fewer pods and smaller peas are being produced as they do not have enough water to fully form.

The heat is also ideal for specific types of creepy crawlies, such as the pea moth and bruchid beetle, which feast on peas and beans, leading to a further decline in stocks.

Stephen Francis, managing director of frozen pea supplier Fen Peas, said: ‘It’s too late to rescue a lot of the cut peas, they overexerted themselves looking for water that’s not there. All of our locations are harvesting below average. If we have rainfall now it wouldn’t be able to reverse the effects.’

The UK is the biggest producer of peas for freezing in europe – 150,000 tonnes a year.

The shortage comes as Martin Kennedy, vicepresident of the National Farmers Union Scotland, warns that low rainfall records in May and sky-high temperatures last month are challenging farmers – especially after a winter which resulted in some of the worst livestock losses ever seen.

he said: ‘Many are worried of a serious shortage of winter feeding and bedding due to the hot, dry weather. This is going to be a year when everyone in the whole in the whole industry can play a part in trying to avert something that may have an irreversible impact on Scotland’s rural economy. Scottish farmers and crofters have always been very resilient but this year may test that resilience to the limit.’

Respite had been forecast in the form of heavy rainfall from storm Chris, which was a hurricane, but it will no longer arrive.

The system had been forecast to make landfall in Scotland after crossing the Atlantic but is now heading towards Iceland. Now the only noticeable impact will be a slight increase in speeds in the Western Isles.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said that while some may encounter showers over the next few days, the dry conditions will continue ‘for some time’.

Meanwhile, the dry weather is sapping strength from branches, causing them to fall.

Aberdeen City Council has now warned people seeking shade under trees to be careful after two ‘major’ branches fell in the city’s hazlehead Park in recent weeks.

Warning signs will now be erected in major parks around the city.

‘Irreversible effect on rural economy’