The extreme heat over the weekend has continued to affect some of Greater Manchester’s reservoirs.
Many parts of the country have experienced temperatures as high as 35C, with some areas facing drought conditions and hosepipe bans.
An amber heat warning was issued by the Met Office for the weekend, amid warnings of heat-related illnesses, delays to public transport and wildfires.
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Drone footage taken at Woodhead Reservoir, near Glossop, on Saturday morning (August 13) show low water levels in the sweltering heat. The pictures were taken by YouTuber Michael Springthorpe, who shares drone videos under the username airlessmean.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said that the weather would be ‘very dry and hot’ over the weekend, especially in parts of the south. Across Manchester, temperatures reached highs of 32C on both Saturday and Sunday.
Pictures taken from Jumbles Reservoir, which is situated near Bolton, also displayed low water levels. The pictures, captured on Sunday afternoon (August 14), showed sparse streams of water under the reservoir’s bridge as people walked by.
An official drought was declared in eight areas of England earlier this week by the National Drought Group (NDG), which comprises representatives from the Government, water companies, the Environment Agency (EA) and others. The EA warned that England’s drought could persist into next year.
John Curtin, executive director for local operations at the EA, said that after the driest summer in 50 years, it would take “weeks’ worth of rain” to replenish water sources.
Three water companies, Welsh Water, Southern Water, and South East Water, have all imposed hosepipe bans, while Yorkshire Water has announced a ban will start on August 26 and Thames Water is planning one in the coming weeks.
United Utilities, which provides water and wastewater services in the North West of England, said it was ‘not considering any restrictions on use’ but advised people to ‘use water wisely’ to save energy and money.
An Environment Agency spokesperson recently told the M.E.N: “The North West is currently not in drought. However, areas including Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and parts of Lancashire have seen less rainfall over recent months with Cumbria experiencing usual levels of rain for the time of year.
“The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely and we are ready to respond if the situation changes. We are liaising with water companies to ensure their dry weather plans are up-to-date and they are following the actions in their plans such as protecting water supplies should the dry weather continue.
“Our officers are assessing impacts of the drier weather on the environment, but if people see any environmental impacts due to dry weather, such as fish in distress or algal blooms, please report it to our incident line on 0800 80 70 60.”
In response to concerns about droughts at , United Utilities said it was able to ‘move’ water supplies to areas which have seen less rainfall. A United Utilities spokesperson said: “Some parts of the North West region have seen less rainfall than others, particularly the Pennine area. However, our major water sources in Cumbria have seen more normal levels of rainfall and we can use our regional network of water resources and water pipes to move supplies to where they are needed.”
An amber weather warning for extreme heat remains in place until 11.59pm on Sunday for large parts of the south, east, west, midlands and north of England.
Meanwhile, over in Scotland and Northern Ireland, a yellow warning for thunderstorms is in place from 9am Sunday to 11.59pm Monday as the north experiences a sweep of heavy rain for the next two days. There are warnings of flash flooding and power cuts as showers beat down.
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