UK drought dries up source of River Thames
LONDON: The source of the UK’s River Thames has dried up for the first time on record against a backdrop of hosepipe bans and warnings of more high temperatures to come. The famous river has moved eight kilometers downstream from its official starting point, outside the south-west English market town of Cirencester.
“Under our changing climate we can anticipate the frequency and severity of such periods of drought and water scarcity to intensify, with increasing competition for a dwindling resource and devastating impacts on aquatic life,” Dr Rob Collins, director of policy and science at the UK’s Rivers Trust, told reporters.
The driest eight-month period from November 2021, for the country since 1976, combined with record-breaking temperatures in July, have left rivers at exceptionally low levels, depleted reservoirs and dried out soils. Parts of England have experienced the driest July since records dating back to 1836 began. All of this has put pressure on the environment, farming and water supplies and is fuelling wildfires.
The Met Office has given a warning that there is “very little meaningful rain” on the horizon for parched areas of England as temperatures are set to climb into the 30s next week although forecast a return to more favorable conditions by the middle of the month. While it could mean another heatwave - when there are above-average temperatures for three days or more - it is likely conditions will be well below the 40∞C recorded in some places last month.
The situation has prompted calls for action to reduce water consumption to protect the environment and supplies, and to restore the country’s lost wetlands “on an enormous scale” to tackle a future of more dry summers and droughts. The call has been heeded by two of the UK’s private water companies to date. — AFP