The British government on Friday declared a drought in a dozen areas of England, with consequent restrictions on the domestic and commercial use of water for residents of those areas.
Affected areas include parts of southwest, south and central England and the whole of eastern England, namely: Devon, Cornwall, Solent, South Downs, Kent, South and North London, Hurts, East Anglia, Thames region, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and the East Midlands region.
The British government statement, picked up by the Sky News chain, urges residents and businesses in the affected areas to be “fully aware” of the current pressure on resources and asks them to use water “wisely”.
“We are better prepared than ever for periods of dry weather, but we will continue to closely monitor the situation, including the impacts on farmers and the environment, and take additional action as necessary,” said Water Resources Minister Stephen Doble.
Prohibit the use of hoses
On the same Friday morning, Yorkshire Water Services Ltd became the fourth British company to impose a ban on the use of hoses to water gardens or wash cars from 26 August. Yorkshire Water serves 5.4 million people and 140,000 businesses, according to its website.
However, the drought is not only affecting the UK, with temperatures on Friday expected to top 35°C again. Data from the end of July shows that 47% of EU countries are facing drought warning conditions and 17% are at alert levels, according to the European Drought Observatory.
Forest fires erupted in France, where it was hit by a third heat wave and the worst drought in its entire history. The German Weather Service (DWD) has also warned that there is a very high risk of forest fires in some areas.
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