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Almost all of England in drought as fifth heatwave nears

ITV News

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Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought, with 45 million people living in affected areas, following a dry start to August.

The National Drought Group has warned all regions of the country are experiencing pressure on their water resources - with increasing impacts across agriculture, public supplies, navigation, and the environment.

The East Midlands, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Kent, East Sussex, Solent and the South Downs became the latest to move into drought status on Monday.

This takes the total to 45 million people in a drought area - and more than 27 million people are now living under restrictions on water use.

Firefighters are continuing to tackle a “devastating” blaze on internationally protected heathland in the New Forest National Park, sparked by a vehicle which caught fire.

The area hit by the blaze is protected heathland which is home to a number of rare species, according to the New Forest National Park Authority.

Wildfires are also raging in Wales and Cambridgeshire.

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20 Comments

@kirishima638 1 month ago

And how much water is wasted in unfixed leaks by greedy water companies?

@anniesayles5010 1 month ago

Provide water for the birds and animals if you have a garden.

@brad9235 1 month ago

If only the monopoly we call water companies actually invested in infrastructure instead of focusing on draining the companies of all cash maybe this would never had been an issue

@L.A.T.E.84 1 month ago

Should this not be the time for water companies up and down the country to fix all those leaky water pipes?

@Alephu5 1 month ago (edited)

2033 to start building new reservoirs wtf? Politicians are great at long-term thinking when it comes to kicking a can down the road, and little else it seems

@Frostie3672 1 month ago

He says thankfully there's no homes near the fires in South Wales, but there is, wildlife live in places like that!

All these fires are destroying habitat that wildlife called home :(

@damonchampion823 1 month ago

Seeing the tiny amount of wild spaces the UK has, burn is heartbreaking

@MichaelWoolhouse-sz7xs 1 month ago

What ITV isn’t telling you is that the private water companies shut down 35 reservoirs without building one. £700 million of land sold off to add to the bonuses of the criminal bosses..

@kevinhalligan5078 1 month ago

Why has England not built a dam or reservoir for 40 years on an island where it rains constantly?

@julieyates405 1 month ago

We have watched endless houses being built, which need water, as well as unprecedented numbers of water leaks, with water flowing down the streets unrepaired for days. Where we are today is absolutely tragic.

@SMP8863 1 month ago

Since 2010 the UK has lost 11200 (eleven thousand, two hundred) firefighter frontline jobs. All Government cuts. Well done to the UK government, good job keeping the citizens of the UK safe 🤯

@nicholasharvey1232 1 month ago (edited)

We're in a drought here in the southeastern U.S. too. I haven't seen rain in 3 weeks, and there is only hot, dry weather in my extended forecast, with areas just north of me expected to approach 40C this weekend. I may be on the other side of the world but it's scary how much my weather has been mirroring Britain's over the past months. We also had a cool, wet May. We're on the same planet after all, everything is connected. What happens here in America ultimately affects Europe's weather, and vice versa.

@janellekm 1 month ago

Watching from South East Queensland Australia, I feel for you all in the UK. Stay hydrated, not just with plain water but electrolytes as you lose minerals from your body through sweat. Put a wet cloth in the freezer, and when icy enough, place cloth around the neck and wrists. This helps to cool you down. Run a wet cloth over your limbs and sit in front of a fan, another body cooling technique. Most importantly, limit your physical activity. The grass can wait to be mowed when it is cooler. Here, I get everything done by 9am, then that's it as we keep our high temps even as the sun is setting. Take care.

@pepper419 1 month ago

I watched four men with their jackets put a grass fire out about half a mile long in just a few minutes, just with their jackets. Hitting away at the fire line; no water was available.

@xaraxania 1 month ago

AI companies are mega thirsty, start by shutting those down first, I dont want to live in a world with endlessly scorched land.

@BK65432 1 month ago

But I bet the AI centres are still being watered

@keithsunderland8839 1 month ago (edited)

The Governments have been SLOW on foreseeing this scenario....

@audioglitchguy 1 month ago

Blows my mind we have a government this incompetent. We could have built more reservoirs a long time ago. Instead, water company bosses decided to pocket our cash.

@SraNje-z4b 1 month ago

Guess what, if you plant trees, you retain and create moisture!

@ScottiferJohn 1 month ago (edited)

England and Wales, please vote in political parties that: keep your water under public ownership, and take climate change seriously. Parts of Scotland are experiencing this extreme heat too, as some comments of this video may be misleading and romanticising our "abundance of water!". However some of the benefits of having the SNP up here, is, at the very least, our water isn't for the profit of some share holders abroad, and it's managed well for the use of the public. Unpolluted.