Croydon Council echoes 1970s advice to ‘bath with a friend’ to save water, as drought in the capital enters its third month
An Amber health alert has come into force today, with temperatures expected to head above 30C again.
Mercury rising: it is going to be hot out there this afternoon
This comes as Kew Gardens reports that it went the entire month of July without a drop of rain for the first time in its history. There’s been a scientific monitoring weather station at Kew since 1871.
Another weather station, run by the Environment Agency at the Hogsmill nature reserve in Surbiton, also registered zero rainfall for an entire calendar month. Parts of London have gone 41 days without a drop of rain, since June 23, as the city suffers its worst drought for decades.
The Environment Agency declared a drought across London and other parts of southern England on July 29. “While this doesn’t mean water has run out, it does mean we all need to use it carefully and help reduce the risk of wildfires,” according to Croydon Council.
Last week, the London Fire Brigade was responding to peaks of more than 1,000 incidents per day, including at least three grass fires in Croydon.
The council stopped short of the appeal to “bath with a friend” made by “the minister for drought”, Denis Howell, in 1976, but they did advise, “Take shorter showers” to save water.
Thames Water last month imposed a hosepipe ban for its customers in and around London.
Today’s temperature is predicted to hit a high of up to 34C by around 4pm. And those measurements are taken in the shade. Conditions on the street, where pavements reflect and intensify the heat, will be hotter still.
The amber alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency, cover London and the south-east, eastern England and the East Midlands, and are in place until 9am Wednesday August 5.
The alerts warn that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services due to the high temperatures, including a increased risk of deaths, particularly among vulnerable people.
“The updated warnings replace those issued during last week’s heatwave and reflect a fresh spell of potentially hazardous temperatures expected to affect millions across the country,” according to the BBC’s Tomasz Schafernaker.
Parched: the borough’s parks are in desperate need of rain
Overnight, there is a possibility of rain in Scotland and northern England, “expected to become locally heavy and thundery”.
And he adds: “Further south, most places will stay dry, warm and humid, although a few thunderstorms could develop across south-east England.
Temperatures in the capital tomorrow are expected to drop off to around 27C before Wednesday and Thursday which will be closer to 25C.
Should temperatures stay above 28C for three days, it would represent a heatwave, the fifth in London so far this year.
The BBC’s 14-day forecast suggests that next week will be warmer and drier than the week ahead.
The Met Office said on Friday that a record-breaking July was characterised by an “exceptional combination of extreme heat, abundant sunshine and an almost complete absence of rainfall”.
Provisional statistics show that only 5.6mm of rainfall had been recorded in England in July – less than half of the previous record low of 13.4mm set in 1911.
Read more: Council’s ‘no barbecues’ plea after wildfires hit New Addington
Read more: ‘Create firebreaks around your homes’ warning from Brigade
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