A record-hot growing season has left many English trees brittle before a stormier autumn.
Heat and drought have pushed trees into early leaf loss and weakened roots. Experts fear El Niño winds and heavy rain could topple stressed specimens, especially ancient trees and those growing in compacted urban soil.
Councils, landowners and utilities can act now by inspecting high-risk routes, protecting root zones, watering young trees deeply and preparing crews to respond safely. Kew’s records also help reveal which species and sites are struggling first.
The wider lesson is to treat trees as infrastructure. Long-term inventories, connected soils and planting mixes chosen for future climates can spread risk, while mature-tree protection preserves cooling and habitat that replacements take decades to provide.
No inspection can predict every failure, and removing trees too readily would worsen heat and biodiversity loss. The full mortality may take years to appear. Decisions need qualified arborists, transparent risk thresholds and continued monitoring after autumn storms pass.