On Friday the 12th of August many parts of southern, central and eastern England were issued with a drought status, after a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather due to climate change. The Environment Agency has stated that water companies will make sure that the environment and farmers will become a priority to lessen the impact of the droughts.
Britain has been hit by the driest July since 1885, leading to calls from Thames Water to initiate a hosepipe ban from the 24th of August within London and the Thames Valley. This comes after the water levels in the River Thames were the lowest they have been since 2005. These low levels have meant that the levels in London and Thames Valley reservoirs have also significantly lowered.
Britain has been hit by the driest July since 1885
Thames Water have called for people to use water wisely and to stop using their hosepipes, this includes their use to wash cars or windows, fill paddling pools, or water gardens or allotments.
Wednesday 17th of August, however, saw torrential rainfall in London, which caused a series of flash floods. These floods caused chaos within London as shops, roads, houses and the underground became flooded. Despite this large amount of rainfall, Thames Water have announced that it is still necessary to go ahead with the hosepipe ban.
A ban is also set to take place in Yorkshire, starting on the 26th of August, as reservoirs in Yorkshire are 20% lower than the average levels for this time of year.
In the upcoming weeks, most of Britain will be hit by much-needed wetter weather, although the August bank holiday weekend could see the return of another heatwave as temperatures are expected to reach over 30ᴼC in some areas.
