uk drought case study

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The impact of drought in England: water restrictions, fire risks and farming hardship

Experts warn of current and future impact of drought as ministers are expected to make official declaration

England is likely to be declared officially in drought on Friday, a move that will allow water companies to impose tough restrictions on water use as temperatures remain high across swathes of the UK.

Hosepipe bans are likely to follow in areas that have not yet declared them, with people being urged to save water by not washing their cars, using lawn sprinklers or filling large pools.

Ministers will take the decision after a meeting on Friday morning of the National Drought Group, which will hear from water companies, farming leaders and conservation groups.

If drought is declared, water companies will be expected to start putting their drought plans into action, and will not need further permission from ministers to impose some restrictions on water use.

With temperatures likely to reach 36C in some places over the weekend , England is experiencing its driest nine-month period since 1976. South-east England received less than 10% of its usual amount of rainfall in July, making it the driest July since 1935. Rainfall has been at about 74% of its long-term average since last November.

Scientists said it was highly unlikely that “extreme” measures of the kind used in 1976 would be needed to deal with the heatwave. Standpipes and rationing – for many, the key memories from 1976 – were still “incredibly unlikely”, according to hydrologists, even though reservoirs were at their lowest levels since current records began in 1990.

Climate experts said the drought had been predicted for some time. Mike Rivington, a senior scientist at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, said: “The scale of heatwaves and droughts we’re currently experiencing has been projected by climate research for many years now. What we are seeing is a clear signal of what the future is going to be like.”

Nigel Arnell, a professor of climate system science at Reading University, said: “It’s incredibly unlikely that we will see major restrictions on water use in the UK. There are lots of things water companies can do before restricting a large number of users.”

He said the case of a village in Oxfordshire that ran out of water was a “one-off” and a result of “technical issues” rather than a foretaste of what the rest of England could expect.

Jamie Hannaford, the principal hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said water companies were also “more resilient than in 1976, we have better water management”.

Farmers were facing restrictions on how much water they were allowed to take from rivers and groundwater sources, threatening crop yields and raising the prospects of even higher food prices.

Jerry Knox, a professor of agricultural water management at Cranfield University, said: “We are starting to see real issues for crops such as potatoes. We will see reduced yields and particularly reduced quality.”

These problems would continue into autumn, he said, as farmers were unable to plant crops as usual and livestock farmers were already giving animals feed intended for winter because they were unable to graze in the fields.

Nature experts said they feared that some rivers were reaching “a point of no return”, as pollution and sewage outflows into rivers and streams had already vastly reduced their natural capacity to cope with drought.

There was also a high risk of wildfires across the country, as satellite images had shown extraordinary levels of dryness in vegetation and soils. Arnell said access to some vulnerable areas could be restricted to prevent people accidentally or deliberately starting fires, and firefighters had warned that the UK was “completely unprepared” for the conditions.

The Environment Agency has told water companies not to allow sewage outflows into rivers if any heavy rainfall follows the drought. Seven canals have been closed to navigation because of low water levels.

Rain and cooler weather were expected next week, but these would do little to alleviate the drought conditions, experts said.

“Lower temperatures will reduce demand for water, but the rainfall next week is likely to be showers and thunderstorms, which are hit and miss [in terms of their impact],” said Liz Bentley, the chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society and a professor of meteorology at Reading University.

Dry soils cannot absorb heavy rainfall, so any storms next week could lead to flash flooding. “We are going to need a prolonged period of steady rainfall over days if not weeks [to alleviate the drought],” said Bentley.

The Conservative party leadership candidate Rishi Sunak said in a statement: “For too long, water hasn’t had the attention that it deserves. We are living through some of the driest conditions in decades, and we need to make sure that measures to boost resilience to extreme weather conditions are part of our holistic plan for water – to protect its supply and clean it up.”

He said he would “hold water companies accountable”, would fast track approvals for water reservoirs and “explore possible incentives to encourage private investment in infrastructure which can mitigate against the impact of floods and droughts”.

England is already judged by experts to be in a state of meteorological, hydrological and agricultural drought – meaning there has been little rainfall, that water stores and soil moisture have been depleted, and farmers are being badly affected – but drought can only be officially declared by ministers, and this affects what water companies can do.

Riccardo la Torre, the national officer for the Fire Brigades Union, said lives were at stake from wildfires – scores of homes were destroyed in last month’s heatwave – and that cuts to its services in recent years were to blame for a lack of preparedness.

La Torre told Sky News: “These are brutal, brutal fires to fight: the temperature that they burn at, the speed at which they spread. The reality is we’ve been left completely unprepared to do that as a fire and rescue service.

“We’ve had over a fifth of the workforce cut since 2010 – that’s over 11,500 firefighters cut. Yet we’re asking them to deal with these extreme weather events in increasing regularity and increasing severity.”

Bentley said some of the impacts of the drought could be long term or permanent, especially if wildfires destroyed forests and peatlands. “Businesses and houses can be rebuilt, but there will be significant long-term effects on landscapes and on people’s lives.”

Rivington said that as the climate warmed these events would become more frequent and more severe. “In the future, there is a substantial risk that the recharge of water tables by winter rainfall may not be sufficient to make up for the increased summer water deficit, so if there are two successive years of drought, water shortages will be even more severe.”

• Extreme weather
• Firefighters

More on this story

2022 will be warmest year on record in UK, says Met Office

England recorded 2,800 excess deaths in over-65s during 2022 heatwaves

UK weather: more thunderstorms expected after 36,000 lightning strikes

UK weather: torrential rain batters parts of country as storm warning issued

Deaths in England’s July heatwave up 7% on rest of the month

Don’t call police over hosepipe ban breaches, Britons urged

More than half of UK lightning strikes this year have occurred since Sunday

UK weather: Devon and Cornwall hit by heavy rain and flooding

UK weather: Met Office warns of ‘dangerous’ floods across country

Most viewed.

• Search Events & CPD
• GA Annual Conference and Exhibition
• GA CPD courses
• Consultancy services
• Quality Marks
• CPD Toolkit
• Study Tours
• Geography Education Research

Online Teaching Resources

• Geography subject leadership
• Curriculum planning
• Progression and assessment in geography
• Classroom practice
• Geography fieldwork
• Promoting geography
• Become a geography teacher
• Support for geography teacher educators
• Support for trainees and ECTs
• Networking Calendar
• GA Branches
• Student Activities

Support the GA

• Volunteer Groups
• Write for the GA
• All about drought: UK drought 2010-2012 – causes and impacts

These resources combine a range of teaching approaches and embed a series of critical thinking techniques in order to further develop students’ understanding of the subject matter.

Cross-curricular links are made to literacy, numeracy and ICT enabling the students to transfer their skills across the spectrum of subjects. The lessons offer opportunities for students to conduct further research, explore the numerous websites and use a range of resources such as choropleth maps to conduct their own investigation into previous drought events and begin to predict future ones from the trends. Each lesson is accompanied by an editable PowerPoint presentation and relevant worksheets.

In this lesson, students will be engaged in storyboarding causes of the case study drought and can draw their source of information from the research on the seven catchment areas.

Learning objective

• To investigate the causes and the effects of the 2010–2012 drought in the UK.

Students will be engaged in storyboarding causes of the case study drought and can draw their source of information from the research on the seven catchment areas.

Resources to support this lesson

UK drought 2010–2012 PowerPoint presentation

Squares of Inference document

Hydrological Summary Documents:

Precipitation trends worksheet

Impacts of drought worksheet

How did the drought end? worksheet

Learning reflections worksheet

Extended learning/homework worksheet

Relevant links

Kendon, M., Marsh, T. and Parry, S. (2013) ‘The 2010–2012 drought in England and Wales’, Royal Meteorological Society (The article required for the task on slide 6 of the PowerPoint presentation) [waiting for permission and pdf from Royal Met Soc]

Marsh, T., Parry, S., Kendon, M. and Hannaford, J. (2013) The 2010-12 drought and subsequent extensive flooding. Wallingford: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. [link to download]

The Dry Utility

About Drought Handbook: Outputs and Impacts

About Drought Event 2018 Highlights (Vimeo)

Other lessons in this set

Is drought a global phenomenon?

A case study of UK drought 2010-2012: investigating the responses

The 1976 Drought – was it all good?

The future of drought in the UK

Changing our thinking about drought

This lesson has been co-written by the GA consultant Gemma Mawdsley and produced in collaboration with the DRY research team, ENDOWS, UWE, and About Drought.

Your Resources

Save this resource to your Dashboard

View any Online Teaching Resources you have saved

Journals & more

Find out more about the GA’s three journals and the GA magazine

GeogPod is the GA’s podcast, each episode discusses a different geographical topic

Want to access all our Online Teaching Resources?

Many of our Online Teaching Resources are only available for GA members.

Find out information about our different types of memberships and join the GA today to view hundreds of resources on a wide variety of topics

We have much more support and guidance available including a wide range of events, publications, teaching resources and ways of getting involved with the GA that you also might be interested in.

More from GA

Explore our wide range support from the ga.

Events & CPD

Get connected

Curriculum support

Keep in touch.

Sign up to the GA’s newsletter for the latest ideas, support and advice in geography education.

© The Geographical Association 2024

Charity No: 1135148 Company No: 07139068

Strategic Partners

As global temperatures rise, there is a risk drought will become more frequent in the UK. Data available here .

Winters across the UK are projected to get wetter, while summers are expected to become drier. However, it is the distribution of this rainfall that will determine future UK drought risk.

Future projections using high resolution models have suggested that during summer the number of dry days will increase, with heavier rain in between. This may mean changing how water is collected and stored to prevent adverse effects on households and agriculture.

Global Observations

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) looked at different types of drought and the likelihood of human influence on them.

There is at least medium confidence that less precipitation has been observed across significant parts of Africa and South America.

Across each continent there is evidence much of Africa, western North America, the Mediterranean and central western Europe, southern Australia, and eastern Brazil are observing more agricultural and ecological droughts. More hydrological droughts have been observed in the Mediterranean (high confidence) and Western Africa, East Asia, and Southern Australia (medium confidence).

There is still low confidence that human influence has affected trends in meteorological droughts in most regions. However, there is medium confidence human influence has contributed to the severity of certain events with more detailed studies . There is also medium confidence that human-induced climate change has contributed to increasing trends in the probability or intensity of recent agricultural and ecological droughts.

It is more difficult to separate influences for hydrological drought because water use and land changes also affect water levels.

Global Projections

The IPCC AR6 has reported that the areas affected by drought will increase in size with higher global temperatures. Even if warming is stabilised at 1.5–2.0 °C several regions are expected to experience more frequent and severe droughts.

Regions that are already suffering from a lack of rainfall are expected to further worsen. Under a high emissions scenario, regions affected by meteorological, agricultural and ecological drought could expand as far as Central America and the Caribbean, most of South America, most of Africa, the Mediterranean and central eastern Europe, and southern and eastern Australia. Only a small number of regions are expected to experience a reduction in meteorological drought.

Hydrological drought is most likely to affect regions that rely on snowmelt or are downstream of melting glaciers. However, due to large amounts of uncertainty it is difficult to predict with confidence how river flows will change.

Related pages

Attributing extreme weather to climate change

UK and Global extreme events – Cold

UK and Global extreme events – Heatwaves

UK and Global extreme events – Heavy rainfall and floods

UK and Global extreme events – Wind storms

You might also like

Help us improve our website

Drought risk in the Anthropocene Special Issue published

Special issue on drought and water scarcity now finalised, why we are still in drought despite recent rain, how does the 2022 drought compare to past events in the uk and how might it evolve in the near future, groundwater’s role in the 2022 drought, how is the 2022 drought in the uk affecting farmers, heatwave increases pressure on water resources, how will climate change affect permanent pastures, ‘drought risk in the anthropocene’ online science+ meeting, droughts during 2018/2019 in the uk, agriculture.

• Impact on farming
• Data and tools for farming
• Case studies – videos & interviews
• Drought and Agriculture Synthesis Report

Policy & Governance

• Guidance - briefing notes & primers
• Case studies – videos and interviews
• Case study - power

Water Supplies

• Guidance - briefing notes
• Data & tools for water supplies
• Case studies for water supplies
• Videos & webinars

Environment

• Rivers & Streams
• Lakes & Reservoirs

Public & Communities

• Educational resources
• Experiences & stories
• Working with gardeners & allotment holders

Data & Tools

• Full index of datasets
• Full index of tools
• Full index of published papers & reports
• Hydrological Forecasting

Recent News

Browse more articles

Blog Creating a better place

https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2023/01/24/preparing-for-future-droughts/

Improving drought situation - but the work doesn't stop here

With above average rainfall in the last few months, and precautionary activity by water companies and abstractors, water levels are returning to normal across most of the country. Water storage reservoirs are rapidly refilling, and most river and groundwater levels are as expected for this time of year.

However, getting back to normal isn’t going to be like a light that you can switch on or off. The environment takes time to recover and return to where it was before the drought started.

Some areas of the country, particularly reserves in Cornwall, East Anglia and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, are not where we’d like them to be – even with the recent heavy rainfall. Groundwater levels are improving but it takes time for rain falling today to filter through and refill underground aquifers. We are still seeing negative impacts on agriculture with limited supplies available for irrigation and, in some areas, water levels in chalk streams are still low. At the height of last summer the environmental impacts of drought were plain to see with impacts on river habitats and species; low water levels in wetland reserves; lower than normal populations of birds; wildfires; algal blooms and mortality of newly planted and mature trees. Some areas of the country are still showing signs of stress on the environment, and the Environment Agency continues to focus its ongoing efforts to monitor how well fish and invertebrates are recovering.

Are we at risk of another drought this summer?

Quite simply – yes. If we have another long period of dry weather as we did in 2022, demand for water from public drinking supplies, business and agriculture (irrigation) could outstrip supply. Wildlife could suffer from low rivers and drying wetlands.

The heavy persistent rainfall through this season has caused typical winter flooding in many areas – but even then, an acute drought could still happen this summer. It is not possible to store such a volume of water right now in case of prolonged hot weather. Across the country, there were reasonable levels of water at the start of 2022 – but by the summer usage was so high, and for so long, that reserves were not being replenished by rainfall.

How are we preparing?

In conjunction with others, we are actively planning for drought – should similar conditions return this year.

Through the National Drought Group, Government, Defra, the Environment Agency, water companies, farmers, environmental and angling groups continue to work together to balance water needs and conserve water. We are taking measures to do everything we can now to reduce the impact on water supplies to communities, including farmers and reducing impacts on the environment.

Like in 2022 we will work together to protect essential water supplies and reduce the impact of drought on the environment.

Large parts of England that are no longer in drought are in, what the Environment Agency refers to as, a “recovering state”. Our teams continue to monitor water reserves and check for environmental impacts.

Across the country, the Environment Agency is reviewing how we managed last year’s drought and how water companies managed their supplies to meet demand. This will help us all improve and strengthen our plans to be prepared should we experience the same, or more severe conditions, in the future. We need to be more agile in how we manage our water reserves and respond to drought. Together we all need to use water wisely and recognise it is a precious and limited resource.

To inform future drought planning we use rainfall and weather forecasts to run models of how well reservoirs and underground aquifers may refill under different rainfall scenarios. Weather conditions can quickly change from those that are expected, leaving us with some unavoidable uncertainty. We continue to produce monthly water situation reports, which communicate developments in groundwater levels, river flows, reservoir stocks and rainfall to our external and internal customers: Water situation reports for England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Is this the new normal with climate change? What is the Environment Agency doing to prepare the country?

We are experiencing more extreme weather more often. 2022 was the hottest summer on record for England and the driest summer since 1995. Most of England was in drought.

We rely on a variety of sources (rivers, reservoirs and groundwater) for our drinking water; in an increasingly uncertain climate the Environment Agency plays a key role in balancing the needs of water users, while ensuring there is enough to support the environment. Society’s growing needs for water, the impacts of climate change on water supplies and ensuring we protect the environment are complex challenges, all of which requires new ways of planning, evaluating and investing in water supply and demand management options.

The country needs greater resilience to drought.

In the next blog we will look at how we’re refreshing our National Framework for Water Resources and working with others to ensure our future water supply is secure.

First released in March 2020, the framework was ground-breaking in in planning for the nation’s water resources to be more resilient to climate change, droughts, and population growth, alongside a new approach to enhancing the environment. We used our best estimate of future supply shortfalls and worked with water companies and other water users to set out a framework of regional-scale planning to develop efficient solutions to the problem.

Now we need to look at new evidence, lessons identified and emerging challenges, to further improve water supply resilience across agriculture, power generation, public water supply and other sectors.

We need to ensure  collectively that we  protect the environment, ensure water is available for food production and low carbon energy production and of course, ensure water still comes out of your tap.

Sharing and comments

Share this page, leave a comment.

Cancel reply

By submitting a comment you understand it may be published on this public website. Please read our privacy notice to see how the GOV.UK blogging platform handles your information.

Related content and links

Stories from the environment agency.

The Environment Agency’s work helps to protect and improve the environment. We also manage flood risk and encourage sustainable development. This blog gives an insight into our work. Find out more .

Sign up and manage updates

Follow us on twitter.

• Environment Agency on Twitter
• Environment Agency on Facebook

The Standpipe Drought - 1975 to 1976

The 1975/1976 drought is considered the most severe experienced across much of the uk.

It had wide ranging water resources and ecological impacts and is often remembered as a benchmark of droughts in the UK.

Late 1975 and early 1976 were exceptionally dry, and some months during this period had no rain at all in some areas. The drought was at its most severe in August 1976 and in response the parliament passed the Drought Act 1976. The drought had huge impacts on people’s day-to-day lives, on their health, on the environment and caused a shift in the governments attitudes to drought.

Your browser does not support the audio element.

The plot below shows the monthly North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index for the periods before, during and after the drought. The NAO is a prominent teleconnection pattern in all seasons, and strong positive phases tend to be associationed with above-average temperatures in northern Europe, whilst negative phases of the NAO tend to be associated with below-average temperatures. There is more information available here.

In terms of duration, the 1975-1976 event ranks within the top 10 events in many catchments across the UK, many of which rank within the top three events. When the accumulated deficit is considered however, this event ranks within the top 10 for almost all catchments, comparable only to the 1930s for coherency in its severity. The mean deficit of the event however is most highly ranked in southern and central England, although at longer accumulation periods also becomes important in northern England. The drought event minima rank within the top 10 across the majority of the UK showing that extreme flow deficits occurred nationwide; at the shorter accumulation period, the event in south-east England ranked within the top three events over the whole 125 year period. Although western parts of the UK show mild to extreme deficits over the 1975-1976 event, for many catchments in these parts, in terms of rankings, events were less severe than in more southerly and easterly catchments.

Across most of England and Wales, the minimum river flows registered in the late summer of 1976 have not been approached since – compelling testimony to the singular nature of this drought episode.

Groundwater

The drought began in late 1975 in the Permo-Trias of north-west (e.g. Llanfair DC) and south-west (e.g. Bussels No.7) and in parts of the Chalk of the north-east (Dalton Holme) UK where antecedent groundwater levels had been at or above the seasonal averages during the spring and summer of 1975. In parts of the southeastern Chalk (e.g. Redlands Hall and Stonor) the onset of groundwater drought was slightly later in early 1976, due to relatively high groundwater levels in the summer of 1975. Once the groundwater drought formed it progressively intensified across all the major aquifers of the UK reaching a peak intensity in the late summer and early autumn of 1976 when groundwater levels had generally reached their natural base levels; correspondingly outflows from springs had ceased over wide areas, typically a few months after the end of the meteorological drought. For example, groundwater drought in the Chalk aquifer at Dalton Holme and Chilgrove House ended in November 1976 and at Rockley, it ended in January 1977 (Day and Rodda, 1978; Bloomfield and Marchant, 2013), while the meteorological drought ended in early autumn 1976 (Rodda & Marsh, 2011).

Click images to enlarge

The large declines in groundwater levels during 1976 were locally made worse by the effects of public abstraction; for example, in the Lincolnshire Limestone (Rodda & Marsh, 2011). The exceptionally depressed groundwater levels during the latter stages of the drought contributed to an unprecedented shrinkage in the river network. Chalk streams were particularly badly affected (Rodda & Marsh, 2011), and the drying up of boreholes, including for example Rockley borehole near Marlborough (Day & Rodda, 1978), and a significant decrease in borehole yields, e.g. at Newbury and Wantage (Rodda & Marsh, 2011). Flow in the River Lambourn needed to be augmented with pumped groundwater to aid flow to the Thames during August 1976 (TWA, 1977; Wright & Berrie, 1987). A similar pumping scheme took place on the Candover Stream that feeds the River Itchen, with groundwater pumped into the river from hydrogeologically unconnected boreholes, augmenting summer low flows and abstraction near Southampton for public supply (SWA, 1976).

Some public waters were closed because of blue-green algae blooms bought on by the high temperature but the bacteriological quality of water supplies generally remained good throughout the drought. There were few fish mortalities from elevated chloride levels; a greater problem was a saline intrusion in the lower reaches of many rivers. Lack of freshwater flow meant that some salmonids could not migrate upstream and the concentrations of fish in downstream pools attracted poachers. Salmon catches (legal ones) on some rivers were reduced by 50%. In contrast, 1976 was a good spawning year for coarse fish.

In tidal waters, the spring tides brought silt into suspension and contributed to critically low oxygen levels. Inland, oxygen levels were low due to the excessive growth and decomposition of water weeds (in the river Wye for example and many lakes, ponds and ditches experienced both nutrient enrichment and de-oxygenation. The Ouse Washes dried out and were infiltrated by salt water. Artificial ponds were dug for natterjack toads at Saltfleetby and Drigg.

Public Water Supply

Agriculture.

As potato prices soared, processors struggled to pay open-market prices for supplies for which they did not have contractual arrangements. Potato growers who had irrigation and used it with the greatest effect took advantage of the high prices - but growers without irrigation had many problems. Imports of Dutch potatoes eased the British potato shortage (due to an estimated deficit of around 2 million tonnes). In August 1976, contract growers held negotiations with the potato processors to increase their agreed prices to help offset the heavy losses that growers were facing from the reduced yields on their drought-hit crops.

“Negotiations are now taking place between potato processors and contract growers who face heavy losses on their drought-hit crops. Unless the processors agree to alter the terms of their contracts or pay an unofficial bonus, growers will receive only the negotiated price of about £45 a tonne. But, ware potatoes reached £170 a tonne on the open market this week because of the continuing shortage of supplies” Potato growers face heavy losses, Farmers Weekly, 20 Aug 1976, p 49 Extracts from the Historic droughts inventory of references from agricultural media 1975 to 2012

Arid soil conditions impacted severely on grass growth, especially in the south and west of England. In July 1975, farmers in Devon were cutting cash-crop cereals for silage. The demand for straw for feeding stock in the winter of 1975 made it expensive and, as a result, unavailable for bedding. Grass prices in the West Midlands rose by about 20 per cent. The increase was due to the higher cost of hay as a substitute, and because farmers feared that the drought conditions may continue and the scarcity of grass would continue. Farmers rushing to auctions to buy winter fodder stocks forced prices to very high levels. Milk yields fell and supplementary feeding of dairy cows was widespread.

“To relieve the pressure we had meanwhile sent a further lorry load of cattle to rented grass in Sussex. With this reduction in numbers we have been able to shut up a couple of fields for a second cut of silage to add to the 60 to 70 tons of first cut which we made in June” The Editor's diary, Farmers Weekly, 25 Jul 1975, p 34 Extracts from the Historic droughts inventory of references from agricultural media 1975 to 2012

Irrigators in many parts of the country faced abstraction bans due to low river flows in 1975 and 1976, including in south Worcestershire and Lincolnshire (one of the worst-hit drought areas).

Policy and Management

In May 1976, the first debates on whether the set-up of the water industry was best suited for dealing with the water crisis are taking place in Parliament. Towards the end of May, the case is made for the establishment of a National Water Authority to be entrusted with the strategic and long-term planning of the management of water resources. Calls for establishing this institution are directly linked to the drought. Transporting water from one region to another are also seen as a possible solution to the crisis. By mid-June, drought orders affected roughly one-third of the country. By early July, Parliament discusses the introduction of a Drought Bill, which is proposed as an urgent regulatory response to the drought. While the Drought Bill is put forward by the Government as an emergency measure, linked to the appointment of Dennis Howell as Drought Supremo, it becomes apparent - once the drought has broken in the autumn - that the Government is keen to maintain so-called ‘reserve powers’ that can be activated in case of future need. When the Water Charges Equalisation Act 1977 is discussed (November – January), it also becomes apparent that the Government had intended to implement a restructuring of the water authorities even before the 1976 Drought. The Water Charges Equalisation Act 1977 is seen as a necessary measure to better deal with drought in the future.

References and further publications

Rodda, J.C.; Marsh, T.J.. 2011 The 1975-76 Drought - a contemporary and retrospective review. Wallingford, UK, NERC/Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, 58pp.

Cookies on GOV.UK

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

• Environment
• Water industry
• Drought and water availability

Drought modelling

GAD supported a project to develop a standardised approach to estimating the poverty and nutritional impacts of droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We worked with the Centre for Disaster Protection, to develop a model that simulates soil moisture in Malawi based on historic data. GAD’s model provided a methodology which can be adapted for simulating other drought measures in different countries.

Drought indicators

The Centre for Disaster Protection collaborated with the World Bank to examine various drought indicators and welfare measures.

They were looking to find a link between droughts and the impact on households, using historical weather event series as indicators of drought. GAD’s role was to develop a model to simulate the drought indicators.

Data science

GAD carried out a detailed exploration of historical data to ensure we understood the features and dynamics which we needed to capture in our modelling. We used this to develop a model which produced 10,000 simulations, over a 1-year time horizon of soil moisture at 5-kilometer points throughout Malawi.

We used data science techniques to build a model to reduce the dimensionality of the data and fit an appropriate time-series model. We then created simulated future projections of soil moisture for each of the data points.

Our analysts had to overcome the challenge of capturing the following behaviours of the underlying drought indicators:

• temporal : how to capture the seasonal trends and varying levels of soil moisture during the rainy and dry seasons
• spatial : how to incorporate correlations between spatial points (where we had to look at the relationships between 32,000 data points)
• scalability : how to make the model flexible and scalable so it can be applied to other countries and drought indicators

It is hoped that our model could be used to improve how we plan for and take action to avoid or mitigate the impact of droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Related content

Is this page useful.

• Yes this page is useful
• No this page is not useful

Help us improve GOV.UK

Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone.

• International
• Schools directory
• Resources Jobs Schools directory News Search

UK Drought 2012- Case Study with exam questions

Subject: Geography

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

10 December 2023

• Share through email
• Share through twitter
• Share through linkedin
• Share through facebook
• Share through pinterest

An A4 sheet summarising the UK drought of 2012 required for the OCR GCSE Geography exam. Exam questions are on the back for the students to complete.

It includes:

• Areas affected and at risk of drought
• Causes of the drought
• Economic effects
• Social effects
• Environmental effects
• 3 responses to the drought
• Evaluation of these responses

I am in no way affilitated with OCR

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 25%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

GCSE Global Hazards Case Studies

A bundle including all the case studies needed for the Global Hazards section of the GCSE OCR Exam paper. This bundle includes: * The Nepal Case Study * Typhoon Haiyan * UK Drought 2012

Your rating is required to reflect your happiness.

It's good to leave some feedback.

Something went wrong, please try again later.

This resource hasn't been reviewed yet

To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it

Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.

Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource:

• 0 Shopping Cart

Extreme Weather in the UK 2022 Heatwave Case Study

Introduction

A significant heatwave affected the UK in July 2022.

The UK recorded its hottest-ever temperature of 40.3°C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire. According to the Met Office, over 34 locations exceeded the UK’s previous temperature record of 38.7°C in 2019. Scotland recorded its hottest day with a temperature of 34.8C.

Recording breaking temperatures – Tweet from the Met Office.

What caused the heatwave in July 2022?

A high-pressure system called the Azores High, which usually sits off Spain, grew more prominent and pushed farther north, bringing high temperatures to the UK, France and the Iberian peninsula.

A high-pressure heat dome, a large mass of hot air trapped by high pressure, brought record-breaking temperatures to Europe and the UK.

A heat dome – Source BBC.

How is the heat wave linked to climate change?

The Met Office estimates climate change made the heatwave ten times more likely. The overwhelming majority of scientists agree greenhouse gases – which trap the sun’s heat – are causing a rise in global temperatures and climate change. Moreover, human activity has enhanced the natural greenhouse effect by releasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Periods of intense heat occur within natural weather patterns. However, they are becoming more frequent worldwide, are more intense, and last longer due to climate change.

As heatwaves worldwide hit record temperatures, this NASA graphic reveals how the world has warmed since 1880.

What were the impacts of the 2022 heatwave?

During the heatwave, five people died in separate incidents involving water. Four were teenage boys, and a fifth was a man aged 20.

On Tuesday, 19th July 2022, the London Fire Brigade declared a major incident after several fires broke out in and around the capital. As a result, London firefighters experienced their busiest day since the Second World War. The fire service usually expected 500 calls on a busy day but received more than 2,600 calls on Tuesday when more than a dozen fires raged simultaneously. Forty-one properties in London were damaged by fire.

More than 250 firefighters tackled three grass fires in London. About 175 firefighters are on Pea Lane in Upminster, east London, with smoke billowing over the M25 motorway.

A major blaze in the village of Wennington in east London ripped through fields and homes. Around 100 firefighters worked to bring the fire under control.

Wennington Fire – Source BBC

Hertfordshire and Leicestershire fire services also declared major incidents.

South Yorkshire Police declared a major incident due to the demand for services from fires across the county. Fires caused devastation in Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham. Firefighters with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue spent the day battling wildfires in fields that destroyed people’s homes. Six houses were destroyed in Barnsley.

Network Rail said train travellers were around 40% lower than the previous week, with many services disrupted by the heat. The northeast mainline was closed for the day on 19th July 2022. In addition, a line-side fire near the London Euston-Milton Keynes railway caused all services on the line to be suspended. The blaze was caused when overhead electric cables came down in Harrow in north London, which Network Rail attributed to the extreme temperatures.

Rail services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield were also suspended due to the extreme heat.

Thousands of people were without power after “extreme” temperatures caused equipment to overheat. Almost 8,000 properties in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North East were without electricity, with some believed to have been off since Monday 18th July. Northern Powergrid’s live power cut map showed almost 15,000 homes were without electricity on Tuesday, 19th July.

Some hospitals in England were forced to cancel surgeries because operating theatres were too hot .

Flights at Luton airport were stopped after heat caused surface defects on the runway. In addition, the RAF cancelled flights from Brize Norton with reports that the heat affected the runway.

Aysgarth Falls and Riverbed, a popular waterfall attraction in the Yorkshire Dales, ran dry due to the heatwave and low rainfall.

What were the responses to the 2022 heatwave?

The Met Office issued the first-ever Red warning for exceptional heat .

Gritters were deployed to protect roads from melting in the heat .

Hammersmith Bridge in London was wrapped in giant pieces of foil to stop it from overheating .

Railways’ speed was reduced due to the risk of rails buckling in the heat .

The East Coast mainline was closed to trains.

A major incident was declared in London by the fire service.

Further Reading

Live report from the BBC on 19th July 2022

Premium Resources

Please support internet geography.

If you've found the resources on this page useful please consider making a secure donation via PayPal to support the development of the site. The site is self-funded and your support is really appreciated.

Related Topics

Use the images below to explore related GeoTopics.

Extreme Weather in the UK – Storm Ciara

Topic home, what is the difference between a tornado and a hurricane, share this:.

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)

If you've found the resources on this site useful please consider making a secure donation via PayPal to support the development of the site. The site is self-funded and your support is really appreciated.

Search Internet Geography

Top posts and pages.

Latest Blog Entries

Pin It on Pinterest

• Click to share
• Print Friendly

Droughts in Europe could be avoided with faster emissions cuts

Rapid climate action could mean devastating dry periods in the Mediterranean become less frequent by the end of the century, a new study shows.

Advanced computer modelling suggests summer rainfall in southern Europe could decline by up to 48% by the year 2100 if emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise rapidly, but much of this projected decline could be avoided by reaching net-zero emissions as soon as possible.

The study, led by scientists at the University of Reading, published today (Monday 25 March) in Geophysical Research Letters , provides additional evidence to motivate accelerated climate action and prevent drastic rainfall decline, more droughts and more forest fires.

Dr Andrea Dittus, the study's lead author, said: "The climate has already warmed so much that some rainfall decline is inevitable, but our findings show that further summer drying projected for Europe could be avoided. Halting rising global temperatures by reducing fossil fuel emissions to net-zero will mean the Mediterranean does not continue to get drier.

"We have no time to waste in cutting emissions. If we don't act rapidly, many countries in the Mediterranean will suffer from a significant lack of rain, with potential major knock-on effects for the UK and elsewhere."

Slowing global warming

In July 2023, Dr Dittus was awarded £580,000 by the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council to investigate what a net zero world would look like. Many previous studies have investigated the impact on Earth at different levels of global warming, but studying net zero climates is a relatively recent focus of research that follows commitments by world leaders -- such as in the 2015 Paris Agreement -- to limit global warming.

The new study focuses specifically on the impact of stabilising temperatures in Europe. The researchers highlight that the speed of global warming is a critical factor in preventing drought and extreme dry periods. When temperatures rise quickly due to unchecked emissions, it causes more extreme shifts in rainfall. But if warming happens more gradually because of strong climate action, the impacts are less severe.

This means that the steps taken by countries to cut pollution in the coming years could hugely influence Europe's future summers. While focused on Europe, the scientists say similar benefits of rapid climate action are likely for other regions across the world.

However, the researchers caution that avoiding the most serious impacts depends on achieving major emissions reductions starting right away. The more optimistic scenarios are only possible if the world transitions away from fossil fuels as soon as possible.

• Energy Policy
• Fossil Fuels
• Global Warming
• Environmental Issues
• Environmental Policies
• Resource Shortage
• World Development
• Climate change mitigation
• Greenhouse gas
• Year Without a Summer
• Climate engineering
• Consensus of scientists regarding global warming
• IPCC Report on Climate Change - 2007
• Greenhouse effect

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Reading . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• A. J. Dittus, M. Collins, R. Sutton, E. Hawkins. Reversal of Projected European Summer Precipitation Decline in a Stabilizing Climate . Geophysical Research Letters , 2024; 51 (6) DOI: 10.1029/2023GL107448

Cite This Page :

Explore More

• Amazing Archive of Ancient Human Brains
• Night-Time Light and Stroke Risk
• Toward Secure Quantum Communication Globally
• Artificial Nanofluidic Synapses: Memory
• 49 New Galaxies Discovered in Under Three Hours
• Rays Surprisingly Diverse 150 Million Years Ago
• Paint Coatings That Help You Feel Cool
• A Self-Cleaning Wall Paint
• Early Human Migration Out of Africa
• Unintended Consequences of Fire Suppression

Trending Topics

Strange & offbeat.

The Effects of Climate Change

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

• We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.
• Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.

Earth Will Continue to Warm and the Effects Will Be Profound

Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner.

Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

"The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming." - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report, published in 2021, found that human emissions of heat-trapping gases have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since 1850-1900. 1 The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades. These changes will affect all regions of Earth.

The severity of effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.

"The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future." 2 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Future effects of global climate change in the united states:.

Here are some of the expected effects of global climate change on the United States, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports.

U.S. Sea Level Likely to Rise 1 to 6.6 Feet by 2100

Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters) in a high-emissions scenario. Sea level is rising because of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.

Climate Changes Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond

Global climate is projected to continue warming over this century and beyond.

Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense

Scientists project that hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates will increase as the climate continues to warm.

More Droughts and Heat Waves

Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense and less frequent.

Longer Wildfire Season

Warming temperatures have extended and intensified wildfire season in the West, where long-term drought in the region has heightened the risk of fires. Scientists estimate that human-caused climate change has already doubled the area of forest burned in recent decades. By around 2050, the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states is projected to further increase by two to six times. Even in traditionally rainy regions like the Southeast, wildfires are projected to increase by about 30%.

Changes in Precipitation Patterns

Climate change is having an uneven effect on precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States, with some locations experiencing increased precipitation and flooding, while others suffer from drought. On average, more winter and spring precipitation is projected for the northern United States, and less for the Southwest, over this century.

Frost-Free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen

The length of the frost-free season, and the corresponding growing season, has been increasing since the 1980s, with the largest increases occurring in the western United States. Across the United States, the growing season is projected to continue to lengthen, which will affect ecosystems and agriculture.

Global Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

Summer of 2023 was Earth's hottest summer on record, 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.23 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record and 2.1 degrees F (1.2 C) warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980.

Arctic Is Very Likely to Become Ice-Free

Sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is expected to continue decreasing, and the Arctic Ocean will very likely become essentially ice-free in late summer if current projections hold. This change is expected to occur before mid-century.

U.S. Regional Effects

Climate change is bringing different types of challenges to each region of the country. Some of the current and future impacts are summarized below. These findings are from the Third 3 and Fourth 4 National Climate Assessment Reports, released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program .

• Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose increasing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Farmers can explore new crop options, but these adaptations are not cost- or risk-free. Moreover, adaptive capacity , which varies throughout the region, could be overwhelmed by a changing climate. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.
• Northwest. Changes in the timing of peak flows in rivers and streams are reducing water supplies and worsening competing demands for water. Sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire incidence and severity, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread forest die-off.
• Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.
• Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
• Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns.

1. IPCC 2021, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis , the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

2. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

3. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment .

4. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment .

Related Resources

A Degree of Difference

So, the Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. What's the big deal?

What’s the difference between climate change and global warming?

“Global warming” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

Is it too late to prevent climate change?

Humans have caused major climate changes to happen already, and we have set in motion more changes still. However, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many, many centuries.

Discover More Topics From NASA

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science in Action

Earth Science Data

Facts About Earth