UK COULD FACE DROUGHTS, WATER SHORTAGES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Wed 20 October 2021

James Bevan, the head of the UK Environment Agency, warned on Tuesday that the UK is at risk of increased drought and possible water shortages as a result of the impact of climate change,

“Hotter drier summers and less predictable rainfall – two effects of a changing climate – plus over-abstraction of water for industry, agriculture and the public water supply as the population grows, is a toxic combination,” Bevan said in a keynote speech at the Royal Society.

Summer rainfall in England is expected to reduce by 15% by the 2050s, and by up to 22% by the 2080s, according to the Environment Agency.

The agency also suggested that summer temperatures in the south of England could regularly surpass 35 degrees Celcius (95 Fahrenheit) and start to hit 40 degrees.

As climate change is causing more extremes in one part of our environment, these are colliding with other effects. So drought risk brings other risks as this domino effect plays out,” Bevan said, as he called for an increased focus on water quantity, rather than just water quality.

His warning comes ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, in less than two weeks, where world leaders are expected to agree on measures to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The UK environmental agency boss said, however, that regardless of the outcome of the COP26 and “even if the world stopped all carbon emissions tonight,” the UK needs to be resilient against future hazards and potential shocks, because some “irrevocable” climate change has already happened and will continue to happen.

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