It may be grim up north, but wildlife is reaping rewards
AS A resident of the North at this time of year, I feel the divide with the south of the country most keenly.
A few squabbling peers in the House of Lords up in arms against the proposed move to York may disagree, but those in the know agree that nothing beats the North.
Yes, the South has all the jobs and infrastructure, but we have that crucial metric so poorly recognised by economists − happiness.
There is one aspect where the South inarguably triumphs and that has been highlighted again this week. In the south East – where on Wednesday I was tramping across the chalk hills of the South Downs – the weather was so hot they were crying out for rain. Hardly any had fallen at all this year, the landowner I was with told me, pointing to the cracked dry earth.
Up north, meanwhile (although excluding the far north of Scotland where the weather has been fine), a thick band of cloud has refused to budge. Rain threatens in the coming days, in between the odd sunny spell.
While this may not sound like the perfect British summer to all you southern sun-loungers, other species disagree. In recent decades scientists have started to unpick a startling phenomenon – an army of insects, birds, and even some plants are slowly migrating north to mitigate the effects of climate change.
A study released last year based on more than 25 million sightings of 300 different species of British insects found that since the Seventies they have been moving northwards at a rate of about five metres a day.
Landscapes that were once too cold are now warming up and the rising heat of the south has in some instances created conditions unfavourable to breeding.
The cuckoo is a case in point. The landowner on the South Downs told me they had almost vanished in recent years. Scotland, meanwhile, is becoming something of a stronghold for the birds. Food for thought in all this northern summer murk. At least someone is enjoying it.