Extreme heat kills fish at Sheffield's Weston Park duck pond as council deploys pump
A resident claimed they saw “several dead fish and no birds” on Thursday evening
Sheffield City Council is attempting to reoxygenate a popular duck pond after fish died in this week’s extreme heat.
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The UK remains in the grip of a heatwave with temperature records broken both in Sheffield and across England.
The mercury could hit 34C today (June 26) on what is, at time of writing (12.40am), the final day of an amber weather warning for heat in South Yorkshire. A rare red warning was in place for large parts of the south for much of the week.
Now, Sheffield City Council has confirmed the heat is responsible for fish dying in the duck pond at Weston Park.
A pump was pictured spraying the pond in an attempt to reoxygenate it.
A resident claimed they saw “several dead fish and no birds” on Thursday evening.
In a post to the ‘Sheffield Stringfoot Pigeons & Bird Rescue’ Facebook page on June 25, they wrote: “Does anyone know what has happened at the duck pond at Weston Park Museum?
“I went on my usual lunchtime walk and saw several dead fish and others that were sick/dying. Plus, none of the ducks etc were in the water.
“There was a large pump, pumping water into the pond.
“I’m heartbroken for the dead animals and worried about the rest of the wildlife.”
The Star contacted Sheffield City Council. A spokesperson confirmed: “The extreme heatwave currently happening in Sheffield has resulted in the sad death of the fish in the pond at Weston Park.
“The Council is aware of the issue and has installed a generator in the pond to oxygenate the water.”
The Star visited the park on Friday morning. There were no dead fish visible at the time, and ducks were seen on the water.