UK heatwave – live: Drought declared across large part of England
Yorkshire Water the latest company to declare hosepipe ban
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Your support makes all the difference.A drought has been declared across a large part of England as the driest summer in decades leaves millions facing water restrictions.
Parts of the southwest and swathes of southern, eastern and central England are to be moved into drought status, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says.
Yorkshire Water is the latest company to announce a hosepipe ban as another heatwave scorches the country after months of low rainfall.
The restrictions will come into effect from 26 August, the company’s director, Neil Dewis, said, citing fears over falling water stocks and a need for caution over “clean water supplies and long-term river health” as the basis for its decision.
On Thursday, experts warned that only “exceptional rainfall” in these worst affected parts of the country over the autumn and winter would ensure that water resources returned to normal before next year, sparking concern that restrictions could last into 2023.
“The autumn-winter period as a whole will be critical to dictating what the water resources position will be as we go into 2023,” said Jamie Hannaford, a hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
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Hot dry weather could trigger dangerous landslides and rockfalls, experts warn
Some Europeans only have four hours of water daily amid drought alert
A village of 800 people in Spain can only get water for four hours a day as Europe continues to swelter under a heatwave.
The unprecedented temperatures scouring the continent have caused the taps in Bonastre, just south of Barcelona, to run dry as almost 50 per cent of the continent is under a drought warning.
Residents only have access to water from 7am to 10am and 8pm to 11pm each day, reports Euronews.
Samuel Webb has the full story:
Some Europeans only have four hours of water daily amid drought alert
Spain is facing its driest climate for at least 1,200 years
Are we in a drought and is it caused by climate change?
After weeks of hot and dry weather, drought could be declared for parts of England.
But what is a drought, and is the parched summer of 2022 a taste of the future?
Here are all your questions answered:
Are we in a drought and is it caused by climate change?
The effects of the hot dry weather could be with us for months to come, even if the Government has not yet declared a drought.
RSPCA urges dog owners to keep them at home as temperatures soar
The RSPCS has shared some steps dog owners can take to ensure their dog stays cool during the summer months. Advice includes not leaving dogs in cars, giving dogs damp towels to lie on, and using pet safe suncream.
France battles 'monster' wildfire as heatwaves scorch Europe
A “monster” wildfire raged for a third day in southwestern France on Thursday, ravaging forests and forcing 10,000 people to evacuate their homes.
With no let-up in scorching temperatures likely before the weekend, firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft battled on many fronts, saying the massive fire could change direction at any moment.
“It’s an ogre, it’s a monster,” Gregory Allione from the French firefighters body FNSPF told RTL radio.
Valentine Dupy took photos of her house with her phone before being evacuated from Belin-Beliet, at the heart of the Gironde region “just in case something happens”.
“It was like an apocalypse. Smoke everywhere ... and planes throwing orange powder onto the fire.”
Firefighters said they had managed to save her village, transformed into a ghost town after police told residents to evacuate as the flames approached.
But the blaze reached the outskirts, leaving wrecked houses and charred tractors in its wake.
“We’ve been lucky. Our houses were saved. But you see the catastrophe all over there. Some houses could not be saved,” said resident Gaetan, pointing to houses burnt to the ground.
Support was on its way from across Europe, with 361 firefighters, as well as trucks and waterbombing aircrafts, expected to back up the 1,100 French firefighters already on the ground.
“We are still in the phase of (trying to) confine the fire, direct it where we want it, where there is less vegetation, where our vehicles can best position themselves ... so we can eventually fix it, control it and extinguish it,” said Matthieu Jomain, a spokesperson for the Gironde firefighers.
More than 60,000 hectares (230 square miles) have gone up in flames so far in France this year, six times the full-year average for 2006-2021, data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows.
French authorities said temperatures in the Gironde region would reach 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Thursday and stay high until Saturday.
Rishi Sunak sets out measures to boost UK drought resilience
Mr Sunak said: “For too long, water hasn’t had the attention that it deserves. We are living through some of the driest conditions in decades, and we need to make sure that measures to boost resilience to extreme weather conditions are part of our holistic plan for water - to protect its supply and clean it up.
“Water companies can and must step up to address leakage and mains bursts, which are contributing factors to consumer disruption including hosepipe bans. When it comes to enforcement, nothing is off the table.”
He added: “Our farmers are becoming increasingly concerned about crop failure and wildfires in these extreme conditions.
“We must make sure that we are incentivising them - through schemes like the Farming Transformation Fund and Farming Equipment and Technology Fund - to invest in water storage and technology like trickle irrigation to make more efficient use of water.
“I would also build the resilience of our water infrastructure, encouraging private investment and fast tracking approvals for alterations to reservoirs and water recycling facilities as well as new projects.”
ICYMI: Firefighters ‘won’t be able to answer all calls’ as deadly heatwaves push services to ‘crisis point’
Firefighters have warned they will not be able to attend all call-outs as the second deadly heatwave in weeks stretches services already at “crisis point”.
Senior staff from crews around the country told The Independent that unprecedented demand and a lack of resources meant crews are not properly equipped to respond to the scale of heat-related incidents caused by the climate crisis.
They also raised concerns that drought conditions could hamper their abilities to tackle wildfires if lakes and ponds can no longer be used to access water.
Read the full story here:
Firefighters ‘won’t be able to answer all calls’ as heatwaves push services to limit
Concerns drought conditions could hamper firefighters’ abilities to tackle wildfires if lakes and ponds can no longer be used to access water
TikTok’s best hacks for how to keep your pets cool in a heatwave
Here are a few of TikTok’s best hacks to help your furry friend beat the heat:
TikTok’s best hacks for how to keep your pets cool in a heatwave
Users dreamt up myriad creative ways you can help your pet keep safe in hot weather
In Pictures: Heatwave across UK
London Ambulance Service shares signs of heatstroke and heat exhaustion
Government has ‘no plan’ for droughts, farmers and campaigners warn
The government has been accused of having no plan to deal with drought conditions that have seen record-breaking wildfires.
Millions of people in southern England are subject to hosepipe bans, farmers are concerned about their crops and natural habitats are under pressure as months of dry weather push the country towards dwindling water supplies, with another heatwave on the horizon.
It is only set to get worse, with the climate emergency expected to bring drier, hotter summers to the UK and, with them, the potential for more frequent droughts.
Read the full story here:
Government has ‘no plan’ for ‘preventable’ drought, farmers and campaigners warn
Exclusive: More wildfires broke out in England and Wales in July than there were in entirety of last year
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