Hot enough for ya? Extreme heat is killing England's oldest trees

 

Photos:  Facebook

Headline: New York Times, 8/21/2026

Claire Moses reports:

The tree is thought to be one of up to 3,500 ancient oaks in England that are more than 600 years old. Many of these trees, which hold a significant place in English history, culture and imagination, have been suffering in sweltering temperatures and consecutive years of drought, according to Ed Pyne, a conservation adviser at the nonprofit Woodland Trust. 

The threat was underscored in June when the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, perhaps the most famous tree in the country, estimated at 800 to 1,200 years old, died. Conservationists cited a combination of factors, including climate change and over-tourism. 

Dr. Pyne said that the demise of the Major Oak was not unique: England is losing one or two such trees a year. 

“Losing trees of that caliber is something that’s just going to increase and increase as we go on,” he said.

 

August 16-31, 2026

Hot enough for ya?  Miami residents think so!  (8/20)

Hot enough for ya?  Oklahoma City residents think so!  (8/20)

Hot enough for ya?  Too hot for Champagne grapes in France.  (8/16)

August 11-15, 2026

Hot enough for ya?  In Europe this summer, suffering up, deaths up.  (8/15)

Hot enough for ya? South Korea records highest temperature ever! (8/15)

Hot enough for ya?  United Kingdom has its hottest day of the day during 5th heat wave of summer.  (8/14)

Hot enough for ya?  Just ask the families of hundreds of workers who have died from the heat!  (8/14)

Hot enough for ya?  Unbearable the 5th time around in Europe.  (8/13)

Hot enough for ya?  Too hot for thousands of cattle in South Dakota!  (8/13)

Hot enough for ya?  Extreme weather puts Pakistan's red chile pepper farmers at risk.  (8/12)

Hot enough for ya?  World's average sea surface temperature sets heat record for July! (8/11)

Hot enough for ya? United States experiences hottest July ever.  (8/11)

Hot enough for ya?  Western Europe sets a temperature record.  (8/11)

August 1-10, 2026

Climate crisis:  Extreme weather drying up Europe's rivers.  (8/8)

Hot enough for ya?  Enough already! say sweltering Italians.  (8/7)

Hot enough for ya?  Austria and Slovakia swelter in record-setting heat.  (8/7)

Hot enough for ya? South Koreans swelter in record-breaking heat!.  (8/7)

Hot enough for ya?  Too hot as far as Great Plains feedlot and cow calf operators are concerned!  (8/6)

Hot enough for ya?  Millions of Western US residents likely think so!  (8/4)

Hot enough for ya?  Too hot as far as Hungary's only nuclear power plant is concerned! (8/4)

Hot enough for ya?  Too hot, as far as 3 lions in a Tokyo zoo are concerned!  (8/4)

July 2026

All you need to read to put the scope of the Bordeaux wildfire in France in perspective.  (7/29)

Western states get a taste of their own wildfire smoke.  (7/29)

Heat dome puts Western and Central United States on broil.  (7/28)

Earth on fire:  Spain and France wildfires edition.  (7/28)

Even the coldest places in the world are experiencing record heat.  (7/27)

Scorching heat wave breaks daily temperature record in Phoenix.  (7?26)

It's a warming world (scooping water from the Seine edition).  (7/19)

Extreme heat kills.  (7/18)

Montana heat wave:  Billings and Miles City set all-time high-temperature records. (7/14)

Salt Lake City his all-time record with a high temperature of 109.  (7/13)

Welcome to Our Warming World: Boundary Waters Minnesota edition.  (7/13)

Unprecedented heat wave kills millions of chickens in France. (7/10)

Western Europe experiences its hottest-ever June.  (7/10)

May-June 2026

Unprecedented European heat wave.  (6/27)

What climate change feels like in the Dadu district of Pakistan.  (6/13)

Climate change turned up the heat on Planet Earth (May 2026 worldwide edition).  (6/11)

50 -- count 'em! -- 50 cities in India were the world's hottest spots on April 27, 2026.  (5/12)

April 2026

If right-wing parties gain control, then Europe will only get hotter (b/w Looney Tunes at the Heartland Institute).  (4/30)

Climate change forces  cities to use plastic instead of ice in new skating rink.  (4/12)

Lack of snowpack in western states raises concerns of drought and wildfires this summer.  (4/10)

United States experiences its hottest March ever.  (4/9)

Record heat puts Arctic sea ice at lowest recorded winter level.  (4/4)

2026 Southwest U.S. heat wave joins list of "most astonishing weather events" of 21st century.  (4/4)

Wyoming experiences its warmest winter in its recorded history then gets hit with a blinding spring blizzard.  (4/4)

Denver experiences its hottest March ever, breaking 14 records in the process.  (4/2)

March 2026

United States weather:  9 states experience record-warm winter, 0 states experience record cold winter.  (3/21)

Historic, unprecedented, extreme, record-smashing heat wave envelopes Western United States.  (3/21)

Hong Kong joins the list of 2025-2026 winter weather hot spots.  (3/4)

It was a extremely wet and hot summer in Australia.  (3/4)

Add Denver to the list of Western cities that experienced one of its warmest Februarys.  (3/2)

HOT HOT HOT:  Las Vegas records its warmest winter ever.  (3/3)

And the heat just keeps on comin' in Phoenix Arizona.  (3/3)

February 2026

Boogying our way to doomsday in a climate denier administration:  Phoenix Arizona is experiencing its hottest winter ever.  (2/28)

Southern Hemisphere is HOT HOT HOT.  (2/12)

Much of the rest of the world broiled while residents of Europe and North America froze their asses off.  (2/11)

Alaskans in Anchorage are having a heat wave.  A record heat wave!  (2/7)

Warmest December ever in Phoenix, Arizona:  2025.  (2/6)

They're having a heat wave in Greenland.  A record heat wave!  (2/6)

Australians just lived through their 4th hottest January on record.  (2/3)

January 2026

While the United States shivers, it's hotter than hell in Australia.  (1/31)

Climate change as a matter of fact:  That's why it's called "extreme weather".  (1/29)