DROUGHT has been declared in the British town of Yorkshire due to a lack of spring and summer rainfall, Sky News quoted the Environment Agency as saying on Friday. The agency added there are low water levels in reservoirs and rivers in many parts of Yorkshire despite recent rainfall. The region joins all of central, southern and eastern England in drought status, while the North East and North West remain in prolonged dry weather.
Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, Vicki Townend, said: “The Yorkshire area has had the fifth driest April to September on record. “This ongoing lack of rainfall means the flow in rivers and groundwater levels in certain parts of our area are very low and have now reached our trigger for declaring a drought. “Even if we receive a few weeks of rain, we cannot quickly reverse the effects of the lack of rainfall during a very dry spring and summer.”
ALSO READ: South Africa summons US envoy for third time over ‘undiplomatic conduct’ “Prolonged dry weather” status for the area was declared at the end of July which has now been upgraded to “drought.” The agency’s announcement follows an unusually dry September, with the lack of rainfall into the autumn months causing the flow in rivers and groundwater levels to reach very low levels in parts of Yorkshire.
This summer has been declared the hottest in the UK since records began in 1884, according to provisional statistics. The average temperature in June, July and August, throughout the day and night, was 16.5C, beating the previous seasonal high of 16.1C set last year, the Met Office said. The UK experienced five heatwaves as well as long spells of no rainfall in some areas, while autumn rain has been insufficient to offset many of the impacts.
