Drought panic in Great Britain – Shelves are being emptied of bottled water

Intense concern prevails in Great Britain due to the drought, resulting in people emptying supermarket shelves of bottled waterwhile there are instructions to limit the shower to four minutesbut also for watering with used bath water.

On Friday it was preached drought in half of England, the first since 2018, although this was quickly brought to an end by heavy rain. Despite the threat of torrential rain and thunderstorms on Monday, much of southern England is unlikely to see any significant rain until September.

As Great Britain experiences warmer temperatures than parts of the Caribbean on Friday, an Aldi store in London posted posters restricting customers to from three to five bottles of drinking water each amid market panic. The store later took down the notices.

The official drought announcement does not automatically trigger legal limits on water use in the eight areas of England listed, but will put more pressure on more water companies to ban customers from water hoses and sprinklers. Washing cars with buckets of tap water could soon be outlawed.

If it doesn’t rain in the coming weeks, it could also prevent millions of citizens from washing vehicles, buildings and windows. It could also lead to a reduction in water consumption for households.

To the British they’ve been told to throw bathwater on plants, limit showers to four minutes, put less water in the kettle, only wash lots of clothes in washing machines and run the dishwasher no more than once a day.

Responding to the advice of the water companies, people panicked too they started buying bottled water, leaving supermarket shelves empty and staff were forced to leave signs limiting customers to five single bottles of water each.

Affinity and Wessex Water, for example, which cover 2.8 million people in south-west England, have urged their customers to reduce their showers to four minutes, adding that they should flush the toilet “only when necessary” or collect water from running taps to flush.

Anglian Water, which covers almost seven million people in East Anglia and Hartlepool, urged people to use pool water for gardens, while Thames Water said customers should check their toilets for leaks, spray water plants in the morning. and turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth.

Severe weather warnings from the Met Office are set to last throughout the weekend, with temperatures reaching 34C in London on Saturday and 33C in Southampton on Sunday, ahead of warnings of severe thunderstorms and possible flooding in Monday.

Tesco and Sainsbury’s supermarkets in London, Evesham, Stalybridge and Taplow were photographed with empty water shelves on Friday night, with many reporting panic buying bottled water on Twitter.

A citizen complained: “Panic in the bottled water market! What is wrong with people. My faucet works perfectly”. The government has insisted there will be no repeat of 1976, when household taps ran dry and millions had to use street pipes.

“All water companies have assured us that essential supplies are still safe”Water Minister Steve Double said on Friday, adding: “We are better prepared than ever for periods of dry weather, but we will continue to closely monitor the situation, including impacts on farmers and the environment, and take further action as necessary.”

Residents in London, the South West, South and Central England and East Anglia have been moved to drought statuswhere they are asked to be sparing with water due to the driest summer in 50 years with no rain and high temperatures.

The heat and dry conditions have also affected agriculture, including cereals, fruits and vegetables. The National Farmers’ Union also said standing crops and dry grass posed a huge risk of fires spreading, as Britons were told not to barbecue.

Temperatures reached 34C yesterday – making the country hotter than parts of the Caribbean and threatening crops of potatoes, apples, hops and broccoli. Water Minister Steve Double said action was already being taken by the Government, the Environment Agency and others to impact management. “All water companies have assured us that essential supplies are still secure and we have made it clear that it is their duty to maintain those supplies,” he said.

There are also fears that rain after dry weather will cause flash floods, the Met Office said, with warnings for northern parts of the UK next week. This has already prompted farmers such as TV star Jeremy Clarkson to harvest their crops early.

There has been criticism that water companies in England and Wales are letting 681 million gallons of water leak out of their pipes every day, the equivalent of 1,245 full Olympic swimming pools. Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak yesterday vowed to crack down on leaking water companies if he becomes prime minister, saying “nothing is off the table”.

Many products may become more expensive, while farmers are already abandoning plans to grow certain varieties,” Professor Jerry Knox of Cranfield University told The Times. “Fall and winter will be critical to get back to normal.”