South of Britain heading for drought conditions?

mike65

Its not rained for months the only real precipitation was snow of course but thats no substitute for frequent/steady winter rain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/14/hosepipe-ban-driest-march-60-years

England and Wales had their driest March in more than 60 years, with some parts of Cambridgeshire having less than 2mm – less than is normally recorded in the Sahara desert at this time of year – according to figures released by the government's centre for hydrology and ecology (CEH).

Experts warned that the next few weeks could be critical for water companies, farmers and wildlife, and could determine whether there are hosepipe bans later in the year.

The exceptionally dry month saw reservoir levels declining sharply just when they should be replenishing ahead of the summer months, with some rivers flowing at less than one-third of their usual volume. In Wales and the south-west of England, the rivers Yscir, Dee and Taw each registered their second lowest March runoff on record.

Terry Marsh, from the CEH, said: "The recent exceptionally dry six- to seven-week spell has come at a pivotal time for water resources. A dry April could lead to a significant deterioration in the resources outlook, so we need to keep a careful eye on things over the next few weeks."

Water companies in some areas are already on alert following the lowest recharge to aquifers in at least 50 years, and farmers are concerned that soils are already drier in many areas than would be normal in July or even August.

CarMuppet

I'm no expert here but I live on a farm and there is a stream/river running through part of the farm. This year there is grass growing where it never grew before. The stream at it's lowest point is 9 inches to one foot lower than I've seen it before and it's not summer yet!! The last time Ive seen that was the autumn of 2007. From memory no rain that year from start of aug to mid oct. Shallow wells ran dry for cattle .

nilhg

Not just the Southern UK, but quite a lot of the crop producing areas of the US, Western Australia and the US,

http://www.agrimoney.com/news/australia-us-eu-stoke-fears-over-parched-wheat--3035.html

http://www.agrimoney.com/news/la-nina-threat-to-keep-risk-premium-in-crop-prices--3012.html

Iancar29

This is kinda scary... hope we get the rain we need to keep supplies going for everyone!

TheInquisitor

I live on the south coast of England and i cant even remember using my umbrella for walking to work or from work. It must be bordering 4 months now. Sure a few showers here and there but nothing when you think about it!

morticia2

Just spent a week+ in SW England... still green and one overnight shower while I was there. The relatives we were staying with said there hadn't been much rain since the end of March...3-4 weeks.

However, there was a dry, hot spring in 2007, too. We all know how that one ended.

snaps

My friend in Cambridge posted a picture of her grass on facebook, its yellow completley dead. Also was looking at some of the wedding street party pictures from around Cambridge, same conditions there, all grass is yellow.

johngalway

A lot of crop farmers in the UK are very, very worried right now. Threads on forums titled "When will it rain", lots of dust, crops at the point of failure, livestock farmers worried about having to feed through the summer if the grass won't grow etc, not good at all.

dexter647

johngalway wrote: »

A lot of crop farmers in the UK are very, very worried right now. Threads on forums titled "When will it rain", lots of dust, crops at the point of failure, livestock farmers worried about having to feed through the summer if the grass won't grow etc, not good at all.

Agreed John, not good at all.. I've noticed that the grass is'nt it's usual spring green and while many south of us got a nice drenching today soil moisture deficits over the rest of the country are very low for this time of year..

Sponge Bob

Same meme in the late 1980s when I was there. South of England yellow and burnt every year by May. Talk of pumping water from Kielder Water to London abounded.

Then it started raining again in the 1990s and they sorta forgot.

deecom

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Same meme in the late 1980s when I was there. South of England yellow and burnt every year by May. Talk of pumping water from Kielder Water to London abounded.

Then it started raining again in the 1990s and they sorta forgot.

Would be one long pipeline! :eek:

johngalway

This photo was posted on the British Farming Forum on the 6th of June, Kent area.

johngalway

deecom wrote: »

Would be one long pipeline! :eek:

Sure don't the Dubs want water from the Shannon.

snowstreams

It seems that most of the UK and the continent are way drier than us after the April.
Its interesting to see how much wetter ireland looks on this map. But were beginning to catch up with the rest of Europe in parts of Tyrone/donegal and down around carlow too.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13338174

mike65

Interesting, whats the story in the Netherlands? Looks like a rain hotspot!

snowstreams

mike65 wrote: »

Interesting, whats the story in the Netherlands? Looks like a rain hotspot!

Yeah i saw that. It must be from large scale irrigation id say in the polder fields, since they have to pump fresh water up out of them into the sea.

mike65

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/10/drought-east-anglia-england-wales

Parts of East Anglia are officially in a state of drought, according to the English environment department Defra and the Environment Agency.

Areas in the south-west, south-east, the Midlands and Wales are experiencing near-drought conditions following the driest spring on record in south-east and central southern England. Overall, England and Wales are at their driest since 1990.

Widespread hosepipe bans are unlikely, although Severn Trent Water has said it is considering "every option". Farmers face restrictions on drawing water from water courses and rivers to protect wildlife.

Farmers' leaders have appealed for authorities not to "just turn taps right off" and instead allow them to eke out supplies. They are attending a "drought summit" on Friday convened by the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, which will include utility companies, supermarkets and industrial leaders.

mike65

Bump! More drought predictions

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/15/uk-households-water-restrictions

Half of all households in Britain could face water restrictions unless exceptionally heavy and prolonged rain falls by April, water companies and the environment agency have warned.

The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, will hold a crisis meeting of companies, wildlife groups and other river users next week after the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology (CEH) stated that the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972, and the English Midlands and Anglian regions have had their second driest years in nearly a century.

Thames Water, which supplies water to 14m households and businesses, today appealed to customers to use less. "Groundwater levels in parts of our region are lower than they were during the 1976 drought, following below average rainfall for 18 of the last 23 months. It's now not a case of whether we'll be having a drought this year, it's a case of when and how bad," it said in a statement.

"We haven't had a lot of rain, and we haven't got a lot in the ground. We cannot rule out the possibility of restrictions over the next few months," said a spokesman./

/CEH data shows exceptionally low levels of ground water are being recorded in Lincolnshire, Kent, the Thames Basin, Dorset and north Wales. But a dramatic split has emerged between south and east and north and west Britain, with Scotland receiving the heaviest rainfall since records began 100 years ago. Flood alerts were common in Scotland in January while river flows in many central and southern rivers have been notably depressed since the early autumn.

"A remarkably sustained exaggeration in the NW-SE rainfall gradient across the UK continued in January. Much of central, eastern and southern England was again relatively dry and the development of the current regional drought now extends across three winter periods with a range of impacts embracing water resources, agriculture and the aquatic environment," said the CEH.

Springs that have been drier than the 1971-2000 average have occurred in the last 3 years, while the winters of 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 were also lower.

pauldry

this hasnt been updated for ages but in a few weeks time it could be a major talking point especially if things heat up. though it does look cool enough for the next 2 weeks.

heres a piece of one of the articles I was reading in the telegraph website

Time for recovery is running out. The ground in East Anglia is so dry, says the Environment Agency, that it will take more than two inches of rain even to saturate it enough to allow water to percolate down to replenish supplies. And as a rough rule of thumb anything that falls after leaves have appeared on the trees is too late to help greatly, since so much is lost in evaporation. The official Centre for Ecology and Hydrology says that “significant” drought this year now seems “virtually inevitable”

pauldry

Water shortages across England could last until beyond Christmas it has been warned, as a further 17 counties were declared official drought zones.


The Environment Agency said dry weather over the past few months has left some rivers in England exceptionally low and has now extended the country's "drought map" into the Midlands and the South West.

Officials stress that public water supplies are unlikely to be affected by the ongoing drought but are reiterating calls from consumers to combat the dry conditions by using scarce water wisely.

Warning of the prospect of the current drought stretching into 2013, Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said: "A longer-term drought, lasting until Christmas and perhaps beyond, now looks more likely."

The Agency, which is liaising with businesses, farmers and water companies to meet the challenges of a continued drought, had already declared drought zones in London, the South East, East Anglia and parts of Yorkshire.


The new official drought zones are Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, parts of Hampshire and most of Wiltshire.

A hosepipe ban has already been imposed on millions of people across southern and eastern England due to the drought.
Exceptionally dry conditions across the major part of England are the result of a lack of rainfall over the past two winters, which has left rivers and ground waters depleted.

While rain over the spring and summer will help to water crops and gardens, it is unlikely to improve the underlying drought situation, according to experts.

It was hoped that a prolonged period of rainfall between October and March - known as the winter recharge period - would prevent widespread drought.

But parts of England received less than 60% of the average winter rainfall, and water supplies have not been replenished.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: "As more areas of the UK move into drought it is vital that we use less water to protect the public's water supply in the driest areas of the country."

Deep Easterly

One thing I can't understand is why the heavy rainfall that has and will continue to affect southern England over the next couple of days is, overall, being painted as a bad thing by the BBC weather forecasts in particular.

After the drought conditions they have experienced there (and that they were constantly complaining about) over the last few months you'd think that instead of saying 'another miserable day on the cards' or 'yet more grey skies and heavy rain' the forecasters would be advising people to get to outside, raise their hands to the sky and treasure every single little drop. Celebrate everyone, the rain is falling!

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest...

Sponge Bob

Ground has no soakage ( too hard) so I' reckon flash floods are more of a possibility. What you need is a few days of gentle rain to crack the cover and then the heavy stuff once the soakage is enabled.

John mac

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17907133

more on inside out tonight @ 19:30 (bbc1 london)

mike65

The recent rain is the wrong sort of rain at the wrong sort of time! Steady Eddie in winter does the trick. Right now its bouncing off the ground and billions of organisms are feeding on what they can, as its the growing season.

Pangea

Deep Easterly wrote: »

One thing I can't understand is why the heavy rainfall that has and will continue to affect southern England over the next couple of days is, overall, being painted as a bad thing by the BBC weather forecasts in particular.

After the drought conditions they have experienced there (and that they were constantly complaining about) over the last few months you'd think that instead of saying 'another miserable day on the cards' or 'yet more grey skies and heavy rain' the forecasters would be advising people to get to outside, raise their hands to the sky and treasure every single little drop. Celebrate everyone, the rain is falling!

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest...

Its more rain they need too :rolleyes:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5ip90eLJkY5iCsCZZuXSHsbLUwgug?docId=B47723271335856090A000