After wettest 18 months on record, UK braces for water shortages

Leading scientists have warned that Britain could be hit with water shortages this summer… despite having endured the wettest 18 months since records began.

Farmers have struggled to plant crops due to the deluge of rain over the past year and a half, which have exceeded all levels since records began in 1836.

Ed Hawkins described the heavy rainfall as a “consequence of our warming world” in comments published in the Financial Times, which have coupled with winters being particularly mild.

But paradoxically, the data has been released amid warnings that water shortages and hosepipe bans could be in the offing if this summer is hot and dry – all because the UK is not storing its water properly.

Leading scientists have said that a lack of preparation means the country is vulnerable to the “all or nothing” rain patterns being experienced more frequently due to climate breakdown.

There have been no new major reservoirs built in the past three decades, rivers have been engineered to move water quickly so it runs into towns and cities – causing floods – and the sea, and many wetlands have been drained and farmed or built on.

This means the water that pelts the UK in winter is not being stored properly, causing floods followed by water shortages in summer.

Jamie Hannaford, a hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), said: “It was an extremely wet winter, with England seeing the wettest October to February on record (since 1890). Rainfall was at least twice the February average across central and southern England.

“If there is below-average rainfall sustained over the coming months, especially if temperatures are also high (leading to high evaporation rates and water demand), then this could put pressure on water supplies in areas where there is limited groundwater storage, which rely on rivers and reservoirs for water supply.

“In these areas (notably, upland northern and western areas) reservoir stocks and river flows can be depleted rapidly during warm, dry spells in spring, even after wet winters – as occurred in the 2010 drought that followed a wet winter and flooding in north-west England.”

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.