Latest news with #nationaldroughtgroup
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Four areas of England now in drought as hot weather threatens wildlife and crops
Four areas of England are now in drought as the East and West Midlands have joined Yorkshire and the north-west. Continuing hot and dry weather is a hazard to crop production and wildlife, ministers said, as they urged water companies to put hosepipe bans in place to conserve water as levels deplete. The water minister, Emma Hardy, said: 'I have asked the national drought group to step up its response to ensure we are successfully managing the impacts of ongoing dry weather. Water companies must now take action to follow their drought plans – I will hold them to account if they delay.' England had a very hot and dry June. Rainfall was 20% less than the long term average for the month, and it was the hottest on record for England. Reservoir levels have continued to fall as increased water use meets lack of rain, with overall storage across England at 75.6%. This is below their level during the severe drought year of 2022, when they were at 77% capacity at this point in the summer. The Guardian recently revealed that England's reservoirs are at their lowest levels for a decade. The government's national drought group met on Tuesday to discuss their response to the prolonged dry weather, which has caused mass fish die-offs, low river flows, dangerous algal blooms and the beginnings of crop failures. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it is likely that yields for farmers will be lower than last year, particularly non-irrigated grains and straw. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Nature is also suffering, Defra said. Wildfires, drying up wetlands and coastal sites, and the loss of breeding seasons for rare species have all been seen. The national drought group is asking recreational water users including anglers, swimmers, and boaters to report any environmental problems they see, such as fish in distress. Officials said on Monday that as many as five of the Environment Agency's 14 areas of England are expected to go into drought this summer after the hottest June since records began in 1884. Three heatwaves, which tend to increase water consumption, combined with a lack of rain, means that large swathes of England are heading towards drought status and the damage to the environment that entails. Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency's director for water and the national drought group chair, said: 'This has been the driest start to the year since 1976, and we need to make sure our water supplies can sustain us through the summer. 'Today I have asked all the partners who make up the national drought group to step up their operational response to manage the drought and use water wisely. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels and working to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment.'
Times
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Times
UK drought: water firms on alert as hosepipe ban fears grow
Three water companies have implemented the first stages of their drought contingency plans as fears grow of hosepipe bans after England's driest spring for almost 70 years. Government ministers, officials, water firms and other bodies on the national drought group met on Wednesday to discuss the risk of drought this summer. Water company chief executives will attend another meeting in July. The Environment Agency said that after an 'exceptionally wet' 2024, this year had taken a 'dramatically different turn'. Met Office data shows that the three months from February to April have been the driest in England since 1956. England experienced its driest March since 1961, recording only a quarter of average rainfall for the month. April had half the usual rainfall. Some households in
Sky News
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Sky News
Hosepipe ban looms amid 'medium' drought risk - as England suffers driest start to spring since 1950s
England could face drought conditions this summer after the driest start to spring in almost 70 years, the Environment Agency has said. Reservoirs in the country are dropping, and farmers are struggling to grow crops after the sunniest April on record, preceded by less than half the average rainfall in March. A "medium" risk of summer drought has been declared, and while there are currently no hosepipe bans planned, this is one of the agency's possible courses of action, as it warned that water companies might have to use measures including restrictions in the coming months. The government's national drought group is meeting on Wednesday, with ministers, senior agency officials, water companies, and other groups set to discuss the risk of drought without sustained rainfall. Water companies will likely be warned to do more to cut leaks and help customers use water more widely. The warning comes after England's driest start to spring in March and April since 1956. April was the sunniest on record, as just 56% of the expected rainfall was recorded across the UK as a whole, and just half the average rainfall for England, Met Office figures showed. That followed less than half (43%) of the average rainfall across the UK in March, with England getting a quarter of the rain it would normally expect for the month. Sky News weather producer Chris England said drought concerns were down to the fact it had been "very warm overall", which he put down to "a meandering jet stream, which can cause either high or low temperatures and rainfall, depending on where the meanders are". He said that it's "what is expected from a warming Arctic". "This year, high pressure has often been located over or near the UK, blocking the passage of the fronts we normally get," he added. Reservoirs in England are 84% full, even less than in the drought year of 2022, when levels were at 90%. Levels in northeast and northwest England, are either notably low or exceptionally low. Farmers have had to start irrigating crops early, with more pressure on their onsite storage reservoirs. River flows across northern and central England are below normal or lower for this time of year and wildfires have been seen in areas including Cumbria, Derbyshire and Dorset due to dry vegetation, the agency said. The weather has flipped between extremes in the past few years, with drought and record-breaking heatwaves in 2022, followed by record wet conditions, and now a return to low rainfall. National Farmers' Union (NFU) vice president Rachel Hallos said "farmers in some parts of the country have started to irrigate crops much earlier than normal" and warned recent extreme weather patterns are "impacting our ability to feed the nation". Jenna Hegarty, head of policy at the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said it shows "we urgently need more support to scale up nature-friendly and climate-smart farming".
Sky News
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Sky News
Hose pipe ban looms amid 'medium' drought risk - as England suffers driest start to spring since 1950s
England could face drought conditions this summer after the driest start to spring in almost 70 years, the Environment Agency has said. Reservoirs in the country are dropping, and farmers are struggling to grow crops after the sunniest April on record, preceded by less than half the average rainfall in March. A "medium" risk of summer drought has been declared, and while there are currently no hosepipe bans planned, this is one of the agency's possible courses of action, as it warned that water companies might have to use measures including restrictions in the coming months. The government's national drought group is meeting on Wednesday, with ministers, senior agency officials, water companies, and other groups set to discuss the risk of drought without sustained rainfall. Water companies will likely be warned to do more to cut leaks and help customers use water more widely. The warning comes after England's driest start to spring in March and April since 1956. April was the sunniest on record, as just 56% of the expected rainfall was recorded across the UK as a whole, and just half the average rainfall for England, Met Office figures showed. That followed less than half (43%) of the average rainfall across the UK in March, with England getting a quarter of the rain it would normally expect for the month. Sky News weather producer Chris England said drought concerns were down to the fact it had been "very warm overall", which he put down to "a meandering jet stream, which can cause either high or low temperatures and rainfall, depending on where the meanders are". He said that it's "what is expected from a warming Arctic". "This year, high pressure has often been located over or near the UK, blocking the passage of the fronts we normally get," he added. Reservoirs in England are 84% full, even less than in the drought year of 2022, when levels were at 90%. Levels in northeast and northwest England, are either notably low or exceptionally low. Farmers have had to start irrigating crops early, with more pressure on their onsite storage reservoirs. River flows across northern and central England are below normal or lower for this time of year and wildfires have been seen in areas including Cumbria, Derbyshire and Dorset due to dry vegetation, the agency said. The weather has flipped between extremes in the past few years, with drought and record-breaking heatwaves in 2022, followed by record wet conditions, and now a return to low rainfall. National Farmers' Union (NFU) vice president Rachel Hallos said "farmers in some parts of the country have started to irrigate crops much earlier than normal" and warned recent extreme weather patterns are "impacting our ability to feed the nation". Jenna Hegarty, head of policy at the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said it shows "we urgently need more support to scale up nature-friendly and climate-smart farming".
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Telegraph
England faces drought after driest spring in 69 years, experts warn
England faces the possibility of a drought this summer following the driest start to spring in 69 years, experts have warned. Water companies are under pressure to do more to fix leaks and help customers save water as the Environment Agency warned of a 'medium' risk of summer drought. The regulator said while there were currently no hosepipe bans planned, water companies might have to implement restrictions in the months ahead. The Government's national drought group – which includes ministers, senior officials from the Environment Agency, water companies and other groups – are set to discuss the risk of drought without sustained rainfall at a meeting on Wednesday. At the meeting, the Environment Agency is expected to warn water companies they must do more to cut leaks and help customers save water more widely. It comes as England sees its driest March and April since 1956. Rainfall was well below average for most of the UK in April, receiving just 56 per cent of the expected total rainfall for the month. England also saw just half the expected rainfall for the month, Met Office figures showed. And March saw just 43 per cent of its average rainfall across the UK, with England getting a quarter of the rain it would normally get for the month. Across England, reservoirs are 84 per cent full – compared to 90 per cent at the end of April in the 2022 drought year. Reservoir levels are either notably low or exceptionally low across the North East and North West of England, which have had their driest start to the year since 1929. Farmers have had to start irrigating crops early, with more pressure on their on-site storage reservoirs. While chalk groundwater levels are generally in a good position, river flows are lower than normal for this time of year across northern and central England. Wildfires have also been seen in areas including Cumbria, Dorset and Wales because of dry vegetation, the Environment Agency said. The weather has flipped between extremes in the past few years, with drought and record-breaking heatwaves in 2022, followed by record wet conditions, and now a return to low rainfall. The regulator said it is closely monitoring the implementation of plans in the event of dry weather, which includes working with farmers to help plan irrigation and preparing advice on small steps the public can take to reduce water usage. Rachel Hallos, the vice-president National Farmers' Union, said the situation on the ground remained variable across farming sectors. 'The dry conditions and lack of any substantial rainfall has meant farmers in some parts of the country have started to irrigate crops much earlier than normal – thankfully reservoirs are currently full following the wet autumn and winter,' said Ms Hallos. Urging the Government to recognise the need for water for food production, she added: 'The extreme weather patterns we have experienced over the past few years are impacting our ability to feed the nation. 'This should include access to water in times of shortage to be secured through planning policies that support on-farm water storage, investment in water-use efficiency on-farm, and innovation in more water efficient crops and farming systems.'
