UK drought washed away by wettest week since winter

After driest spring for a century, Wales, the south-west and Midlands escape drought status, although restrictions remain in some areas The wettest week since winter has washed away the drought in some parts of the country, but restrictions remain in force, with Anglia still suffering. More rain fell in England and Wales in the last week than at any time since the start of February, alleviating the drought that has affected areas across the middle of the country. Most of the rainfall came in south Wales and the south-west of England, two of the areas worst hit by the dry spell. But central and eastern England have still had less than half their average rainfall for the time of year, and Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and western Norfolk remain in official drought status. Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said: “While the rainfall this week will not reverse the effects of the dry spring, it has provided welcome water for crops, gardens and rivers across areas affected by or at risk of drought.” Last week, the Environment Agency was ready to advocate raising Wales, the south-west and the Midlands to drought status. However, heavy rains came just ahead of the expected announcement last Friday, and have continued, which means these regions are now unlikely to be in imminent danger of drought. Experts warned the next few weeks would be crucial, however. Farmers have already been hit by the drought conditions, with the National Farmers’ Union suggesting that the average English wheat yield in 2011 could be down by 14% on 2010 to around 6.5 tonnes per hectare, which would rank among the lowest since the late 1980s. Ian Backhouse, combinable crops chairman at the NFU, said: “I believe this year’s forecast yield decrease was largely due to poor growing conditions since winter. Farmers are clearly concerned about the impact on the ground of this abnormally dry spring [and even] with the recent rainfall we fear the damage has already been done.” He said the barley crop would also be hit, particularly in terms of quality. A poor wheat harvest is likely to raise food prices, and poor barley could increase the price of beer, brewers have warned. Meat prices may also rise as livestock farmers struggle with feedstock. Farmers and some other businesses are still banned from taking water from rivers or underground sources in many areas of the country, though higher river flows have meant some have had restrictions lifted. Rivers whose flow is below average for the time of year include the Dove and Derwent in central England, Tone and Frome in the south west and the Coln in the Thames Valley. Across much of the country, the soils are “exceptionally dry” after England’s driest spring in a century, according to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. This means it will take much longer than usual for the land to recover, even if strong rainfall continues. Scotland, meanwhile, had its wettest spring on record. Bishop warned that the situation could yet turn worse. “Without further sustained rainfall, river flows will drop again, which could harm wildlife and increase the impact of pollution incidents. Our teams remain on alert to respond to the environmental impacts of the drought,” he said. Drought Water Weather Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.