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Southeast England facing 'serious drought' over continued dry spell: experts:Posted By: Kirk Griffin Sun Feb 26, 4:50 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - Experts have been saying it for more than 12 months. But what started out as a trickle of media interest is now a flood: parts of England could this year face their worst drought in a century.Kent, the so-called "Garden of England", is drying out, as is next door Sussex and other surrounding southeast counties as the driest period since 1921 leaves underwater aquifers and reservoirs with below-average levels of water. Some water companies serving the areas have already imposed a hosepipe and sprinkler ban but the Environment Agency in England and Wales wants it and other water conservation methods enforced by all companies from next month. "We're in a serious situation now, where both the environment and our water supplies are at risk," the chief executive of the Environment Agency, Barbara Young, said as she urged the move on a dry, British midwinter day on Friday. "There is still time for rain this winter and spring to reduce the risk of drought but water companies shouldn't just hope for rain. They must act now in case the weather stays dry." Young's agency has been warning about the lack of rain for the last year, fuelling the debate on whether the notoriously damp and variable British weather is being affected by climate change. But the agency upped the stakes this week in its "Drought Prospects" report, warned the approaching summer could see "one of the most serious droughts... in the last 100 years". That has raised the prospect of roadside standpipes and even water rationing -- a common sight in the long, hot summer of 1976 -- which would guarantee to whet the appetite of a British public noted for its obsession with weather. "It's not scaremongering. It's something the (Environment Agency) are being very responsible about," Sancha Lancaster, from the Met Office, told AFP. "To have a second winter where the southeast has been drier than average on the whole, that's when it starts to become an issue... that's why we're getting a rush of media stories about it." The government agreed, with Environment Minister Elliot Morley acknowledging Friday that hosepipe bans and restrictions on non-essential water use were likely, although he played down more draconian measures. Just 724 millimetres (28.5 inches) of rain fell in southeast and central southern England between November 2004 and January this year, making it the second driest 15-month period since 1914, when records began. Thirteen of those months recorded below the 1961-1990 long-term average with only 72 percent of the average 1,001 mm, according to Met Office figures. Lancaster said that with difficulties in predicting long-term rainfall with certainty, it was best to err on the side of caution. Industry association Water UK has backed the moves but stressed that consumers in densely-populated southeast England also need to do their bit by turning off taps and cutting back on washing machine and dishwasher use. About 3.4 million people currently have restrictions on water use: 2.7 million of these have a hosepipe ban, according to the Environment Agency. Terry Marsh, a senior hydrologist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said a midwinter call for water conservation was correct as flowering plants and trees used up reserve stocks and river flows decrease in spring. Above average rainfall levels are needed in the affected areas over the next 10 weeks to moderate the effects of the shortfall on groundwater stocks, the research scientist told AFP. "Rainfall over the next 10 weeks is going to be critical... We had a very wet spring in 2000 so we're not talking an impossible situation. I'd say we've got a one in five chance," he told AFP. Courtesy Of: Yahoo! News The information reported above is property of Yahoo! inc. and reprinted or modified with legitimate permission. We thank Yahoo! inc. for the kind cooperation with us and other shareholders. |
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