Drought Alert: New Rules On Way As Climate Crisis Bites

Ministers set to impose restrictions in England today to cut water use

- Fiona Harvey, Helena Horton and Matthew Weaver

England is likely to be declared officially in drought today, a move that will allow water companies to impose tough restrictions on water use as temperatures remain high across much of the UK.

Hosepipe bans are likely to follow in areas that have not yet declared them, with people being urged to save water by not washing cars, using lawn sprinklers or filling large pools.

Ministers will take the decision after a meeting this morning of the National Drought Group, which will hear from water companies, farming leaders and conservation groups.

If drought is declared, water companies will be expected to start putting their drought plans into action, and will not need further permission from ministers to impose some restrictions on water use.

With temperatures likely to reach 36C (97F) in some places over the weekend, England is experiencing its driest nine-month period since 1976. The southeast of England received less than 10% of its usual amount of rainfall in July, making it the driest July on record since 1935. Rainfall has been at about 74% of its long-term average since last November.

Scientists say it is highly unlikely that “extreme” measures of the kind used in 1976 will be needed. Standpipes and rationing – for many, the key memories from 1976 – are still “incredibly unlikely”, according to hydrologists, even though reservoirs are at their lowest levels since current records began in 1990.

Climate experts said the drought bore a clear human imprint. Mike Rivington, a senior scientist at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, said: “The scale of heatwaves and droughts we’re currently experiencing has been projected by climate research for many years now. What we are seeing is a clear signal of what the future is going to be like.”