England is experiencing "nationally significant" water shortfalls despite recent rainfall, officials have warned as temperatures are set to soar to 34°C this week. The national drought group, comprising the Met Office, regulators, government and water companies, says the country is seeing widespread environmental and agricultural impacts from the lack of water.
Water shortages are hitting crop yields, reducing livestock feed, damaging wetlands and river wildlife, and increasing wildfire risks across the country. Five areas remain in drought status, with six more experiencing prolonged dry weather conditions.
Critical water levels
Reservoir levels have fallen to 67.7% full on average across England, compared to the 80.5% normally seen for the first week of August, as The i reports. Levels dropped by 2% last week alone, highlighting the severity of the ongoing crisis.
Nearly half of England's rivers had below normal flows in July, with the River Wye and Ely Ouse hitting their lowest levels on record, according to The i. The lowest reservoirs include Blithfield in Staffordshire, Derwent Valley group in Derbyshire, and Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon Lake in Somerset, all less than half full.
Hosepipe bans are currently in place for all Yorkshire Water customers, along with parts of Thames Water, South East Water and Southern Water regions. Water companies are being urged to fix leaks quickly, while the public is asked to take simple conservation steps like turning off taps and deleting old emails to reduce data centre cooling demands.
Dangerous heat warnings
Heat health alerts now cover the whole of England, with amber warnings for southern and central areas beginning at 09:00 Tuesday until 18:00 Wednesday, the BBC said. The alerts represent the most serious level of heat warning as temperatures climb towards dangerous levels.
Dr Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "This week is starting off warmer than of late across England and Wales, with temperatures getting towards the mid-30s Celsius for some in the south. While conditions remain mostly settled across the south, the picture is more unsettled further north-west, with rain or showers at times. As we move into the second half of August there are indications of high pressure building and therefore largely settled conditions overall. Although dry weather is more likely, rain, showers or thunderstorms cannot be ruled out."
European heatwave context
The UK heatwave forms part of a broader European pattern, with Bergerac and Bordeaux setting all-time temperature records at 41.4°C and 41.6°C respectively on Monday, according to the BBC. These extreme temperatures highlight the continent-wide nature of the current heat event.
Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency's director of water and national drought group chairwoman, said: "The current situation is nationally significant and we are calling on everyone to play their part and help reduce the pressure on our water environment. Water companies must continue to quickly fix leaks and lead the way in saving water."
Climate change is driving more extreme weather conditions across the UK, making droughts more severe and heatwaves more frequent. Despite unsettled weather in July with heavy rain in many places, it was still the fifth warmest July on record, with fire services facing funding cuts that have left them without enough crews and resources to handle increased wildfire incidents across heathland and moorland areas.
Sources used: "PA Media", "The i", "BBC" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
