Satellite stills of a parched Britain provided stark evidence of the impact of the recent scorching weather which swept through the island, with the UK’s Meteorological Office predicting another heatwave which will plunge the kingdom into a prolonged drought.
Satellite pictures from Copernicus, the EU’s earth observation programme, show the east of England and Scotland turning brown.
Yahoo News reported last Thursday that the recent record-breaking temperatures in the UK have brought with them a bout of severe dry weather, with some areas experiencing their lowest levels of rainfall since records began 186 years ago.
The Met Office reported that precipitation in England reached a meagre 35% of its average rainfall for July 2022, while Wales and Northern Ireland received just over 50%. Scotland, however, recorded 81% of its average rainfall for July.
The UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) warned that “low or exceptionally low river flows and groundwater levels are likely to continue for the next three months in southern England and Wales”.
According to government-published rainfall records, August marks four months that parts of Britain have seen little to no rain, sparking widespread fears of drought and leading city councils to ban the use of hosepipes across parts of the country.
The “UK Independent” reported that the South East Water and Southern Water authorities have already announced hosepipe bans “after the driest first half of the year since 1976 saw south-east England racking up 144 days with little or no rain so far in 2022”.
Policy director at Water UK, Stuart Colville, said that the declaration of drought by the Kingdom’s Environmental Agency “looks increasingly inevitable”, adding that this would be the “right decision given some of the pressure on the environment that we’re seeing at the moment”.
Authorities also warned that parts of England and Wales face an “exceptional” risk of wildfires as an amber heat warning comes into place. Reinforcing this, the Met Office raised southernly England’s Fire Severity Index to exceptional, the highest level, for the week ahead.
Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said that the temperatures would “widely” be in the 30s across the UK, peaking locally in the mid-30s on Saturday. “I think the hottest day will probably be Saturday, where we could see 36ºC in one or two spots,” he said.
There is also a heat health alert in place from the UK Health Security Agency, with experts advising people to look out for those who are older or with existing health conditions, as well as young children.
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