The UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, three countries accustomed to regular rainfall, are seeing intense drought this summer, with unusually dry conditions expected to persist through September.
The UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, three countries accustomed to regular rainfall, are seeing intense drought this summer, with unusually dry conditions expected to persist through September.
Last month was the driest July since 1935 across the UK and the driest July on record in the south of England, according to the UK Met Office. Southeast England, the hardest-hit region, saw less than one-tenth of its average July rainfall, spurring the regional water utility to ban its customers from using sprinklers and hoses.
In the Netherlands, 2022 ranks among the driest years ever. Officials have declared a water shortage, with some parts of the country limiting water use among farmers and officials discouraging the use of hoses.
“The Netherlands is a land of water, but here too our water is precious,” Mark Harbers, minister of infrastructure and water management, said in a statement. “That is why I ask all Dutch people to think carefully about whether they should wash their car or fill their inflatable swimming pool completely.”
Read more at Yale Environment 360
Photo Credit: daeron via Pixabay
