Country Life's heatwave winners and losers. Spoiler alert: it's good news for tomatoes

Has anyone else noticed mozzies coming out earlier in the afternoon? In defiance of conventional wisdom (mosquitoes, it is said, come out either at dawn or dusk to avoid wilting in the heat), the pesky things are proving hardier than ever.

Those in my garden enjoy a feeding frenzy every time I choose to work from home and eat alfresco. Perhaps these ones are a mutant species engineered by City bosses to return us to the office all week. Then again, perhaps not.

Our summer, as well as being hot, has been unusually humid. The moisture in the air is catnip to the mosquito and the heat itself appears to have upset traditional patterns — drawing the insects out in the late morning and early afternoon as the temperature now peaks at about 6pm.

Last month was the driest July for England and Wales since records began 190 years ago, according to the Met Office. It was the second warmest July for the UK as a whole and also the sunniest on record.

So who else, apart from the mozzies, has been a heatwave winner this summer, and who have the biggest losers been? We, at Country Life, break it down for you.

The winners

Octopus

The hot weather, although detrimental to much marine life, has been encouraging greater numbers of warm-water creatures, including the octopus.

Our eight-armed friend has also begun to migrate because of this. More and more octopuses are being found near Welsh, English and Scottish shores.

This is a nuisance to some of our swimmers; and, to fishermen, a concern. However, to chefs and calamari lovers in the UK this is a huge win — as well as for the creature itself, which is multiplying in droves.

Butterflies

Warm temperatures and sunny days speed up the life cycles of these beautiful animals and encourage them to fly out in high numbers to feed and mate.

Professor Richard Fox, head of science at the UK charity Butterfly Conversation told the BBC last month that we could be in for a 'bumper summer of butterflies'.

'They are cold-blooded creatures and rely on the warm from the sun,' he added. 'On these hot, dry days, they can get on with their lives, particularly finding a mate and the females laying eggs to create the new generation of butterflies later in the year.'

If only the warm weather had made mating as seamless for human beings. Alas, single friends have bemoaned that sweating buckets on the London underground is a sure fire way to put off the opposite sex.

English winemakers

In Haywards Heath at Bee Tree Vineyard last month, wine was flowing. Sugrue South Downs is just one of the British vineyards massively profiting as the sun continues to shine.

Dr Alistair Nesbitt, director at vine management service Vinescapes, told Metro last month: 'We have seen a really rapid rise in temperatures during the growing season over the last 30 years.

‘Regions that were previously unsuitable are now suitable. That has really enabled these vineyards and varieties to expand and grow.’

With weather here becoming the same as Champagne's in its glory days, the only way is up for English vineyards. With wine now being made as far as Scotland, it really seems that the sky's the limit — as long as the weather doesn't get much hotter than it is now this really could be English wine's Belle Époque.

Tomatoes

It is my first year of growing any vegetables at all, and despite my experienced neighbour's many warnings about the perils of growing tomatoes from seed (the word 'heartbreak', I believe, was uttered) they have turned out amazingly.

In southern France, where UK supermarkets important many of our tomatoes from, the industry is reporting a 50% decline in production due to the heat, according to Simon Conway, the chair of the British Tomato Growers Association and the Cucumber and Peppers Association. However, the amount of sunshine over here has lead to 'brilliant yields' for British growers.

My garden for one has provided a bountiful haul that keeps on giving, made sweeter by the warm weather. British tomatoes, I have concluded, are a heatwave winner. Growing more locally can only be a good thing for this country.

Lidos

Normally the paddling-ground of the wetsuit-clad or incredibly brave, the warmer weather has been excellent news for our country's lidos. My local Brockwell Lido, which in February is an unfathomably cold icy pit, has become in recently months a literal South London hotspot. Long may it remain in vogue (although their recent decision to charge £5 to rent a deck chair due to its increased attendee numbers is a bit of a step too far, in my opinion).

The tide of popularity even saw a group of 20 MPs and the Fabian Society call for water companies to fund the reopening of the country’s lost lidos last month. I'm sure that this would be a pleasant relief to all.

The losers

Hedgehogs

It's a sad time for poor little hedgehogs, who don't have enough water to make sufficient milk for their hoglets —so are pushing them out of their nests before they're old enough to survive.

Yvonne Cox, the co-founder of Hedgehog Rescue in Yate near Bristol, told the BBC last month that the animals have been 'coming in thick and fast'. You can help by leaving shallow dishes of water out in your garden with stones in (for them to perch on).

Farmers

If watching the new series of Clarkson's Farm has taught me anything it is that it has been a tricky time for farmers as of late. And this has only been worsened by the heatwaves. The CLA's president Gavin Lane said: 'Farmers are telling us this is the worst harvest in years. A sodden winter followed by drought has left wheat at half its usual height and some crops not worth harvesting.

'This is the third drought in five years. What was once extraordinary is becoming part of farming in Britain, and government must start planning for it. We know that proper government investment in resilient farming systems, from reservoirs to wildfire prevention, could help farmers cope with these new extremes.'

Bees

Data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's national monitoring scheme shows that British bumblebees could suffer sharp falls in their numbers as heatwaves become more frequent.

UK species have fat, furry bodies that have historically helped them survive in our cooler climate. Dr Richard Comont, the Trust's science manager, told the BBC that once air temperatures reach around 28ºC to 32ºC, UK bumblebees can begin to struggle. 'They actually cook themselves from the inside out,' he said. You can help by creating a more flower-rich habitat in your own garden as well as adding a pond and more shade.

Rivers

Rivers and streams have been another heatwave victim, with rising temperatures putting them in danger. People have been asked not to canoe on the River Wye because the water is so hot that salmon and trout have moved into the shallow, oxygenated water in order to survive. If a canoe appears they will move to deeper water and die. So it's bad news for not only rivers, but the marine life that live in them too.

A version of this feature originally appeared in the August 5, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.