Drought risk creeps up after a dry spring in the south and heatwaves returning

(by Karma Loveday)

With a heatwave set to return to many parts of the country this week, the National Drought Group has cautioned that the risk of drought this year has risen after a dry spring in southern England.

Thanks to an exceptionally wet winter, water resources overall remain in a relatively healthy position – but some areas are already feeling the impact of drier conditions. Reservoir storage is currently 88.6%, with chalk groundwater levels generally normal. River flows are decreasing but around two-thirds are still around normal for this time of the year. However, the Burn, Yare, Ely Ouse and Cam in East Anglia are notably low. The River Till in Northumbria is exceptionally low.

Spring witnessed a marked north-south divide, with northern England receiving 90% of average rainfall in recent months compared to just 50% in southern England. Parts of the East Anglia region (Cam & Ely Ouse, North-West Norfolk and North Norfolk catchments) will move into prolonged dry weather next week, while Devon and Cornwall are on a watchlist to also enter prolonged dry weather later in the summer.

Farmers have reported issues with the growth of spring crops and have had to begin irrigating earlier than normal because of the dry soils.

The late May heatwave – which brought six consecutive days above 30°C in some areas and a new May record high of 35.1°C in West London – saw demand spike. If these conditions are repeated, there will be additional cause for concern.

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of England’s last severe drought, which resulted in widespread ecological devastation, crop failures, rota cuts and standpipes.

• Drought and heatwaves have not convinced people to curb their water use – in fact, some are using more. That’s according to research from Thames Water, which found 55% had made no reduction in their usage since in the last year, and 13% (7m people) are using more – with the main reasons increased bathing and showering (28%), more time spent gardening and watering plants (27%) and more household cleaning (26%).

The research found that water-saving habits are not being passed down the generations, with a third of adults saying they were not taught water-saving techniques or encouraged to save water while growing up. Moreover, while the national target is to reduce water consumption to 122 litres per person per day by 2038, almost 9% of people use 166 litres of water every 10 minutes by sprinkling their lawns in the summer months.

In the Thames region, the company reported the heatwave during the late May bank holiday weekend drove over 1bn litres of extra water demand.