Summary
Here is a round-up of the day’s top weather-related headlines:
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud has said that the weather would continue to be dry across the south on Sunday. “For the rest of the weekend, across the south, there will be a continuation of the very dry and hot conditions,” he said.
Dorset and Wiltshire fire service says it has seen a near 500% increase in wildfires during the first 10 days of August this year compared with 2021.
The fire service also revealed that a fire on the Studland peninsula near Purbeck was probably started by a disposable barbecue. The fire service told people planning to visit the area: “Bring a picnic – don’t bring a barbecue”
Dorset police said on Saturday afternoon firefighters had discovered an unexploded piece of ammunition believed to date to the second world war on the scorched heathland.
Labour has called on the government to summon a meeting of the Cobra civil contingencies committee to ensure water supplies are protected amid the drought. Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “It has been nearly a year since they launched their National Resilience Strategy consultation and yet they don’t have a single plan”
The Met Office is warning of an increased risk of fires as well as adverse impacts on health for vulnerable people and the wider population.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the live weather blog for today. Thanks for following along (and keep cool and hydrated).
Updated
In places, the Loire can now be crossed on foot; France’s longest river has never flowed so slowly. The Rhine is fast becoming impassable to barge traffic. In Italy, the Po is 2 metres lower than normal, crippling crops. Serbia is dredging the Danube.
Across Europe, drought is reducing once-mighty rivers to trickles, with potentially dramatic consequences for industry, freight, energy and food production – just as supply shortages and price rises due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bite.
Driven by climate breakdown, an unusually dry winter and spring followed by record-breaking summer temperatures and repeated heatwaves have left Europe’s essential waterways under-replenished and, increasingly, overheated.
With no significant rainfall recorded for almost two months across western, central and southern Europe and none forecast in the near future, meteorologists say the drought could become the continent’s worst in more than 500 years.
