Most of England, outside the northernmost counties, is now in drought and the dry spell could last until Christmas and beyond, the UK Environment Agency was to announce yesterday, as government officials started planning for a long-term water shortage that could spell disaster for wildlife, the landscape and farming.
Large swaths of the Midlands and the southwest have entered official drought status, meaning water companies in those areas can apply to place restrictions on water use for households and businesses. This could mean an extension of the hosepipe bans in the south of England.
The drought now extends from Cornwall to Kent, from East Anglia to Shropshire and Herefordshire, and as far north as Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and north Yorkshire. Even parts of Wales — normally one of the wettest parts of the UK — are reporting ill-effects from the dry spell. The smattering of rain in many areas over Easter gave little respite from low river flows and falling groundwater levels.
While rain over the summer and autumn could alleviate the water shortages, officials are planning for a third dry winter in a row, which could devastate wildlife and farming. Only a very wet autumn and winter could prevent the drought stretching into next year, because soils are so dry they will need a prolonged heavy soaking to recover, and reservoirs across much of England are so low that they will take a long time to recharge.
Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, warned the outlook was bleak.
“A longer term drought, lasting until Christmas and perhaps beyond, now looks more likely — and we are working with businesses, farmers and water companies to plan ahead to meet the challenges of a continued drought,” he said. “While we’ve had some welcome rain recently, the problem has not gone away, and we would urge everyone — right across the country — to use water wisely now, which will help to prevent more serious impacts next year.”
Households and businesses in areas not yet badly affected, and not under hosepipe bans, are also being urged to save water.
The state of restrictions varies widely. While most of the southeast is under a hosepipe ban, the southwest — despite being now officially in drought — has more reservoirs and fewer people.
South West Water has no plans for restricting usage, because its reservoirs are at 84 percent of their capacity.
Farmers, particularly arable farmers and vegetable growers, are facing a difficult summer as decisions have already had to be made on what to grow this year, and further restrictions such as curbs on abstracting groundwater will become more likely if the drought continues.
Wildlife is being hard hit across the south of England, with little that can be done for many species. Amphibians such as frogs, toads and newts are particularly at risk, as their breeding season has been hit by the drying out of ponds and ditches, and fish have died in large numbers because they have been trapped in diminishing pools as the river flow has fallen.
Eleven people, including a former minister, were arrested in Serbia on Friday over a train station disaster in which 16 people died. The concrete canopy of the newly renovated station in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed on Nov. 1, 2024 in a disaster widely blamed on corruption and poor oversight. It sparked a wave of student-led protests and led to the resignation of then-Serbian prime minister Milos Vucevic and the fall of his government. The public prosecutor’s office in Novi Sad opened an investigation into the accident and deaths. In February, the public prosecutor’s office for organized crime opened another probe into
RISING RACISM: A Japanese group called on China to assure safety in the country, while the Chinese embassy in Tokyo urged action against a ‘surge in xenophobia’ A Japanese woman living in China was attacked and injured by a man in a subway station in Suzhou, China, Japanese media said, hours after two Chinese men were seriously injured in violence in Tokyo. The attacks on Thursday raised concern about xenophobic sentiment in China and Japan that have been blamed for assaults in both countries. It was the third attack involving Japanese living in China since last year. In the two previous cases in China, Chinese authorities have insisted they were isolated incidents. Japanese broadcaster NHK did not identify the woman injured in Suzhou by name, but, citing the Japanese
YELLOW SHIRTS: Many protesters were associated with pro-royalist groups that had previously supported the ouster of Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin, in 2006 Protesters rallied on Saturday in the Thai capital to demand the resignation of court-suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and in support of the armed forces following a violent border dispute with Cambodia that killed more than three dozen people and displaced more than 260,000. Gathered at Bangkok’s Victory Monument despite soaring temperatures, many sang patriotic songs and listened to speeches denouncing Paetongtarn and her father, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and voiced their backing of the country’s army, which has always retained substantial power in the Southeast Asian country. Police said there were about 2,000 protesters by mid-afternoon, although
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
RSS