Heavy rain forecast will not reverse widespread drought conditions in the UK | Drought

Flooding and drought could hit the UK at the same time this week, with heavy rain forecast to fall on hard, parched ground.

While parts of the UK will see the “first significant rain for a long time” in the coming days, it will not reverse widespread drought conditions that have put pressure on wildlife, farmers, firefighters and water resources.

On Tuesday, South East Water told customers in Kent to use water only for “essential” purposes, after taps ran dry on Monday for around 8,000 customers. And Wessex Water imposed the latest hosepipe ban in the UK, covering 1.4 million customers in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

The fifth heatwave of the summer driven by the climate crisis will be followed by wetter and cooler weather that will closely approximate typical conditions for the time of year, according to the Met Office.

Deputy chief forecaster Mike Silverstone told PA Media that rain is expected on Tuesday in the north of the country, particularly in the north-west, with another patch of rain moving to the south-west overnight.

This is likely to spread east and south, bringing the first spell of widespread rain to areas most in need. “Thursday will be a day of heavy rain across much of the UK, although some of it will be heavy and other areas will miss it entirely,” Silverstone said.

“As some of this rain could be heavy, there is a possibility of some surface water flooding as the rain falls on very dry and hard ground,” he added.

The predicted rain may bring welcome relief to parched lands and firefighters battling wildfires, but water shortages will persist.

On Tuesday, South East Water warned its customers in Kent that levels in its storage tanks remained “critically low”, despite restoring supply to 7,400 homes in Herne Bay, Rough Common and Blean on Tuesday. Some 400 homes still did not have water, the company spokesperson said.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said the situation was “simply not good enough”.

“South East Water needs to go further and faster to reduce leaks and follow its drought plans to ensure supplies are not disrupted even in the driest of weather,” the spokesperson said.

South East Water was the first water company to issue a hose ban this summer when it banned customers in some parts of Kent from using them on July 3. On Tuesday, Wessex Water became the latest, with its first ban in 50 years, since the summer of 1976.

The company blamed increased demand during dry weather, but also longer-term weather forecasts, which require protecting resources for customers and the environment.

On Friday, data from the Environment Agency showed that five of England’s key reservoirs are currently “exceptionally low”, while the National Hydrological Monitoring Program warned that low supplies were likely to persist into the autumn.

Liz Stephens, professor of climate risk and resilience at the University of Reading, told PA that it could take many weeks of sustained rain for vegetation to recover and rivers and reservoirs to return to normal.

“Here in the southeast, we still have a month of rain below what we would normally expect at this time of year, despite heavy rain in January and February,” he said.

“As a result, while any rain that falls this week may help reduce the immediate risk of bushfires, it will take many weeks of sustained rain for vegetation to recover and our rivers and reservoirs to return to normal. “This means we should expect hosepipes to be banned for some time.

“Flooding can still occur during drought conditions and surface water flooding may even become more likely as baked soils cannot absorb rainwater as quickly.”

PA Media contributed to this report.