https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx201001n79o
'The East and West Midlands have officially entered drought, joining the North
West and Yorkshire, after yet another hot and dry spell of weather.
The Environment Agency announcement follows England's driest start to the year
since 1976, leaving many rivers across the Midlands at extremely low levels.
Declaring a drought is a public sign that water companies might introduce
restrictions on water use if they aren't already in place. That can involve
hosepipe bans, which have already started for millions of people in Yorkshire.
Droughts are driven by natural weather patterns, but climate change and our
growing use of water are raising the risks of water shortages, the Environment
Agency says.
The National Drought Group is made up of the Environment Agency (EA),
government, Met Office, water companies and others, and manages preparations
for dry conditions in England.
It met on Tuesday morning and announced that it had "stepped up" its response,
adding that conditions in the Midlands had deteriorated since early June.
Most of the rest of the England is in a status of prolonged dry weather - the
category below drought - except for parts of the South West, East and South
East.
There are no official droughts in Northern Ireland or Wales, although Mid and
South Ceredigion in west Wales are in "developing drought".
Scotland does not declare droughts but monitors "water scarcity". Parts of
eastern Scotland are in "moderate" scarcity – the second most extreme category
– which means there is "clear" environmental impact.
In England there is no single definition of drought, but it is ultimately
caused by a prolonged period of low rainfall, which has knock-on effects for
nature, agriculture and water supplies.
England had its driest spring in more than 100 years, followed by its warmest
June on record.
Some areas experienced three heatwaves in quick succession in June and July,
with the intense warmth drawing more moisture out of the soil.'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
