Ask anybody about Wales and there are probably a few things that come to mind. Welsh cakes, choirs, and probably rain. The declaration of drought status across the whole of Wales tells a much bigger story than one dry month. It is a warning about the Wales we are becoming if we do not move faster to adapt to climate change and restore the natural systems that help protect us. 

This July, Wales has received just 8% of its long-term average rainfall, with many rivers now exceptionally low and reports of drying riverbeds, fish in distress, algal blooms, wildfire risk, and growing pressure on farming and livestock. Natural Resources Wales has made clear that drought is declared when low rainfall and water availability are already affecting our communities and ecosystems. 

The impacts of climate change should now be in no doubt. Drought, extreme heat, wildfire, flooding, water scarcity and biodiversity loss are not separate problems. They are connected symptoms of a landscape under stress. We cannot meet this challenge by responding to each emergency in isolation. Wales needs a long-term national effort to make our communities, farms, rivers and wildlife more resilient. 

The horrifying wildfires seen across Wales and the wider UK this year show what this means in practice. Too often, public debate focuses only on the immediate source of ignition, while the wider causes of these fires are left out of political and media coverage. A spark matters, but it becomes a major wildfire because the landscape around it has been made hotter, drier and more flammable by climate change, degraded habitats and land management pressures. If we only talk about how fires start, and not why they spread so quickly and burn so intensely, we will keep missing the lesson. 

Some have argued that the answer lies in putting more livestock back onto the hills. Reducing wildfire risk in the Welsh uplands is complex, but simply increasing livestock numbers could make the situation worse. In many places, past policies and subsidy systems, including the 1980s–early 2000s headage payments that rewarded livestock numbers, helped drive unsustainably high stocking levels. Overgrazing, particularly by sheep, can make the problem worse, because sheep tend to avoid tough Molinia grass, allowing it to dominate large areas. This has been compounded by decades of draining our peatlands and disrupting the crucial sphagnum mosses and other peat-forming species, often driven by attempts to “improve” the land. This dry, tussocky grass can become highly flammable in dry weather.

The priority now should be to restore the natural resilience of these landscapes by blocking drainage channels (over 2,000kms according to Natural Resources Wales), rewetting peat, helping bog and heathland plants to recover, and using light levels of grazing by the right animals in the right places. Mixed grazing can play an important role here, with carefully managed cattle, ponies and other appropriate native breeds helping to break up vegetation, create a more varied habitat structure, and reduce fire fuel without returning to damaging grazing pressure. This is a more practical and lasting way to reduce wildfire risk and, if fires do start, nature-based management can support faster recovery. It will also bring these areas back for wildlife, while restored habitats can help alleviate flooding and drought for communities in Wales.

Nature-based solutions offer the best approach because they tackle several risks at once. Restored peatlands keep more water in the landscape, store carbon and reduce the conditions that allow wildfires to spread. Healthy wetlands slow and clean water, support wildlife and ease pressure on rivers during dry periods. Trees, when planted in the right places and managed well, provide shade, helping to cool rivers and streets. 

These are not optional environmental extras; they are practical climate adaptation measures that reduce risk before disaster strikes and aid recovery afterwards.

That means using the policy levers Wales already has and strengthening them where needed. Welsh Government should make climate adaptation and nature recovery a core test of decision-making. The Sustainable Farming Scheme must help farmers and land managers restore habitats, rewet landscapes and reduce wildfire risk. Planning policy should make new development part of the solution by managing water sustainably, creating shade and space for nature, and avoiding further pressure on already stressed rivers. Wales should seek to have a minimum of 20% tree cover in urban areas. Water companies and regulators must also move faster to tackle leakage and pollution, while investing in catchment-scale restoration. Wherever nature-based solutions can reduce risk, save money and deliver wider public benefit, they should be the first choice for public funding.

The immediate priority is for everyone to use water wisely and reduce pressure on rivers and ecosystems already under strain. We need to be mindful that wildlife is also suffering, and simple steps such as putting out a shallow bowl of water in your garden can make a big difference. But the longer-term lesson is clear: Wales must adapt to climate change, and adaptation will fail unless nature is restored at the scale needed.

If we restore nature at scale, Wales will be better able to hold water in the landscape, reduce wildfire risk, and give communities and wildlife greater resilience to the extremes we are already experiencing.

The drought declaration should therefore be treated not only as a warning, but as a clear call to action.