All posts tagged: drier

Watering aids to help you through the drier months

Watering aids to help you through the drier months

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more After an extremely dry spring in some parts, gardeners may now be heading for their hosepipes to try to keep their beloved flowering plants, fruit and vegetables happy. We may choose to plant drought-tolerant plants, although they are still likely to need watering-in until established, and use mulch to cover the ground and help retain moisture, but every now and then we are probably going to need a helping hand over the summer. There are a variety of watering aids out there – but which should you go for? Here’s a few ideas to whet your appetite. 1. Hozelock Solar Select (Good garden centres, £124.99) (Hozelock/PA) This new automatic watering system is powered entirely by solar energy and is ideal for those planning to …

Amazon is getting drier as deforestation shuts down atmospheric rivers

Amazon is getting drier as deforestation shuts down atmospheric rivers

Vast areas of the Amazon rainforest have been burned for cattle ranching MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images Deforestation has reduced rainfall over the Amazon, suggesting the rainforest could reach a catastrophic tipping point sooner than expected. Satellite observations and rain gauge measurements show that the amount of rain falling in the southern Amazon basin declined by 8 to 11 per cent between 1980 and 2019. Tree cover in that part of the Amazon shrank by 16 per cent in roughly the same period, mainly because the forest was slashed and burned for beef cattle ranching. The northern Amazon basin has suffered far less deforestation and saw only a slight increase in precipitation, which was not statistically significant. While a recent study linked deforestation to drier weather within 300 kilometres, the new research found this connection across a basin more than 3000 kilometres wide. That shows destroying rainforest can also hurt nearby ranches and soy farms, says Dominick Spracklen at the University of Leeds, UK, who worked on the new study. “Some people in agribusiness might …