Weather, whisky and wine – the delicate balance of booze and the British climate

Those of us who might have written off UK summers as disappointingly cool and rather wet affairs will have enjoyed the summer of 2018, but as part of a pattern of extreme heat in a multi-continent heatwave, should we be careful what we wish for?

As one of the BBC’s broadcast meteorologists, waving my arm over a weather map featuring temperatures exceeding 30C became the norm for a time this summer, rather than the exception.

The UK fell short of breaking its national temperature record of 38.5C, but that perhaps dubious honour was achieved in a number of other countries including Japan hitting 41.1C. Even in the Arctic Circle temperatures topped 30C.

High pressure is a common link between the heatwaves in recent months. In the UK a weak jet stream parked itself to the north of us resulting in high pressure and persistent hot, dry weather. The longer pressure remains high the hotter it tends to become.

Heatwaves are nothing new of course, but as global temperatures rise due to human climate influence in the form of greenhouse gas emissions, climate scientists say heatwaves are likely to produce higher temperatures. In other words when it gets hot, it will be hotter.

In making Weather World we often meet people who are working to mitigate the challenges or harness the opportunities of climate change. For a recent edition of the programme we were in Scotland finding out what the whisky industry is doing to ensure we can all enjoy a wee dram for many years to come.

The Glenlivet distillery is working with scientists from the University of Aberdeen to assess what impact higher temperatures could have on the water supply to the distillery, a crucial element in the making of whisky.

A substantial amount of water is required in the cooling process. Higher temperatures may mean the water arriving at the distillery is warmer and that means more of it would be required to do the same amount of cooling.

The other key ingredient of whisky is barley and this summer’s hot, dry weather has had an impact on yields. More of the same summer weather in the years ahead could limit whisky production. That’s quite significant when you think that in 2017 whisky exports were valued at £4.37bn.

The programme also looks at how the changing climate is benefiting wine producers in southern England where warmer weather has led to the expansion of grape varieties, including some which would have previously been grown in the Spanish region of Rioja.

So there are opportunities and challenges facing drink producers but it’s safe to say our alcohol supply is in good shape for a while yet. However, drinking alcohol in hot weather increases the risk of dehydration and heat stroke. That’s quite the dilemma!

Weather World: Whisky and Wine, is on the BBC News Channel at 9.30pm on Friday 24 August, and is repeated across the Bank Holiday weekend.