A vineyard is planning to harvest its grapes early because of recent hot and dry conditions, bosses have said.

Jersey recorded its warmest month in June, with some areas reaching above 30C (86F), and managing director of La Mare Vineyards Tim Crowley said it had been about two-and-a-half months without "meaningful rain".

He said its grapes would need to be harvested in August for the "first time ever".

The vineyard has not been the only place having to adapt to the warmer conditions, as football pitches and trees had also been impacted, according to sports and leaders and charity staff.

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Crowley said: "It's likely we'll be harvesting in August, which is the first time in the 28 years I've been here."

He said the dry weather was "great for grapes in general", but they did need water in-between.

"Any extreme wet, or any extreme dry, is not good for any growing and grapes are no different.

"The one thing grapes are is resilient to dry weather.

"Generally, they do a lot better than most crops, but they're starting to struggle now as we've had nearly two-and-a-half months without any meaningful rain."

However, he said it was good news because, the earlier the harvest, the safer the weather was.

Usually harvesting would be carried out in late September into October, which saw more changeable conditions.

Alex Morel said trees had gone into "survival mode" due to the dry weather [BBC]
Alex Morel said trees had gone into "survival mode" due to the dry weather [BBC]

An environmental charity said many trees were struggling to cope with the hot and dry summer.

Alex Morel, chief executive officer of Jersey Trees For Life, said the lack of rain had forced some trees into "survival mode", with leaves closing to limit water loss before eventually falling off.

She said trees lowered temperatures by providing shade and releasing water into the air.

Morel said: "I think of trees being our natural air conditioning units.

"They're pumping out - normally, when they're fully in leaf - gallons and gallons of water.

"They're helping cool down the island and create shade, so, when there's no leaves, there's no shade and there's no air being pumped into the atmosphere keeping us cool."

Tim Pryor said football pitches were dry ahead of the season [BBC]
Tim Pryor said football pitches were dry ahead of the season [BBC]

Football pitches were looking drier and more brown ahead of the season, sports leaders said.

Jersey Football Association CEO Tim Pryor said clubs were struggling to keep grounds in good condition ahead of the league season.

Pryor said: "We think about it as being a benefit when it's pouring down with rain and we can still get matches on. It also becomes a benefit at this time of year.

"I think, more so than I've seen in recent years... pitches [are] looking browner around the island at the moment."

Pryor said artificial pitches such as Springfield helped in such conditions.

Jersey Water also said on Wednesday it was preparing to start using it's "back up" desalination plant that turned sea water into drinking water due to the consistent dry weather.

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