Which UK areas are in drought – and what does that mean?
Severe drought has been declared in parts of southern England following a record-breaking summer.
Officials said the south east and south west have suffered their driest April to September for more than 100 years, while a number of reservoirs have been affected due to the persistent dry conditions.
Parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex were declared in severe drought on Thursday after a summer that saw heightened demand for water.
Meanwhile, water companies have been told to step up drought planning amid efforts to protect public water supplies in the affected areas.
The announcement follows a meeting of the National Drought Group, which reviewed water resources and drought conditions across England.
The Environment Agency says severe drought is the most critical stage of the dry conditions and can have “lasting effects on the environment, farming, people, communities, and the economy.”
It says on its website: “The lack of water leads to serious water shortages and widespread impacts across sectors.
“It’s when the lack of water begins to disrupt daily life and the environment in major ways.”
It comes after Yorkshire was declared in drought last week due to dwindling water levels in rivers and reservoirs. As such, all of England is now in drought apart from the North West and North East.
What is a drought?
According to the Environment Agency, droughts “cannot be defined, as every drought is different”. That being said, they occur when a period of low rainfall creates a shortage of water, reducing water supplies.
There are many different types of drought, including agricultural, environmental and water supply drought. These may “occur separately or together”, the agency says.
In August, 71.3 per cent of England was in drought, while the North East and Yorkshire was under a “prolonged dry weather” status.
Persistent heatwaves over the summer left reservoirs and rivers depleted, revealing dry river beds as water levels sank.
Agricultural land, forests and fields turned brown in the heat. Farmers reported poorer yields as a result of the weather, with livestock farmers forced to use winter feed as a result of low grass growth.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.