A DROUGHT was officially declared on yesterday across a large swathe of England, amid a new heatwave and prolonged dry weather. More restrictions are likely to be placed on water use in affected areas.

Drought status is decided by the UK’s Environment Agency based on elements such as rainfall, river flow and groundwater levels. The impact these conditions have on public water supply, farmers and the environment is also taken into account.

The agency has now announced drought status in eight of its 14 areas. This means that the Environment Agency and water companies will step up their actions, although essential supplies of water are currently considered safe. These actions include monitoring reservoir levels, demand and forecasts, and can lead to precautionary actions such as temporary water use bans.

Several companies have announced a localised hosepipe ban, under which people are not allowed to use hosepipes to water lawns or plants, or clean cars. Thames Water, which is responsible for public water supply in most of Greater London, has also said such a ban will be introduced in the coming weeks.

England has experienced a very dry summer this year, with the driest July on record since 1935. In that month, rainfall was classed as exceptionally low for the time of year in the majority of areas, the agency said.

This July was also the fifth consecutive month across England with below-average rainfall. “River flows decreased in July at most of the indicator sites we report on and the majority of sites are classed as notably low for the time of year,” said the agency.

After the UK experienced its hottest day ever in mid-July, with parts of England seeing air temperatures of over 40°C, a new heatwave was set to hit this week. An amber extreme heat warning has been issued by the Met Office.

“Some rain is forecast in the weeks ahead, but this is unlikely to be long-lasting or widespread enough to make a big difference to some exceptionally low levels in reservoirs and rivers,” said Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology at the University of Reading.

UK climate changing

Extreme weather is considered to be an indicator of climate change. An annual report released by the Met Office in July on the UK climate in 2021 shows the continuation of warmer-than-average years, and an increasing rate of sea level rise around the UK.

This “continues to show the impact of global temperature rises on the climate in the UK, reaffirming that climate change is not just a problem for the future and that it is already influencing the conditions we experience here at home,” said the Met Office.

Climate change has a wide-ranging impact. Besides extreme temperatures, it also affects agriculture and the water cycle due to heavy rainfall and drought, Corinne Le Quere, professor of climate change science at the University of East Anglia, told Xinhua.

This summer, the impact was already visible. Some upper parts of rivers have dried up almost completely. The Fire Severity Index has been raised to “exceptional”, the highest level, for much of southern England this weekend.

London Fire Brigade said Thursday that its control room had mobilised thousands of firefighters to tackle 340 grass, rubbish and open land fires during the first week of August, an eightfold increase from the 42 fires seen during the same week last year.

Amid the rising chaos, Le Quere called for more action at the global level, emphasising that “global emissions have to be brought down to net zero for the climate to stabilise”.

At both local and national levels, she added, people “need to do their bit in a coordinated fashion”. – Bernama, August 13, 2022.