UK drought warnings explained as Brits could face emergency measures not used in 50 years

UK drought warnings explained as Brits could face emergency measures not used in 50 years Britain's contingency plans for severe drought would see standpipes set up in the street and mains water cut off at certain times of day - a state of emergency last seen in the summer of 1976 Households could face having their mains water cut off and be forced to use standpipes in the street under Britain's emergency drought plans. Half of England is currently in an official state of drought, with much of the rest of the country classed as experiencing 'severe dry weather'. More than 20 million people in the UK are meanwhile living in an areas covered hosepipe bans - with forecasters warning that yet another heatwave is on the way this week. But we're not yet at the highest 'red' level of warning, severe drought, which was last activated in the famous summer of 1976. Memorable scenes saw people relying on standpipes for all of their water, strict water rationing introduced, and taps running dry for much of the day. How does Britain's drought warning system work? The Environment Agency uses four levels of drought warning to communicate levels of risk to the public, which are: - Prolonged dry weather: Water levels are falling, and the public is encouraged to limit water use before official restrictions are needed. - Drought: There is a shortage of water affecting water supplies, farming, and wildlife. Water companies implement temporary use (hosepipe bans) for households, while environmental teams may also intervene to rescue distressed wildlife, or move water locally to safeguard habitats. - Severe drought: Emergency infrastructure and contingency plans are implemented. Authorities are given the power shut off mains water and to implement 'rota cuts', which sees water turned on and off at different times of the day to manage supply. Communal street standpipes or mobile water tanks may be introduced, forcing residents to queue and carry their daily water rations back to their homes. - Recovery from drought: Issued after significant rainfall, this sees water restrictions and monitoring continue until reservoirs have fully replenished to safe levels. What happens when a severe drought warning is issued? Severe droughts are the point at which a drought truly becomes a national emergency - and they are rare. The government was last forced to raise the warning to this level in 1976, when an extraordinarily dry summer came at the end of 16 months of below average rainfall. Along with the disruption to household water supplies, this measure also allows water companies to take more water from rivers and underground aquifers than usual, or reduce the amount they are legally required to release back into rivers from reservoirs. During the historic 1976 severe drought, the crisis became so severe that Prime Minister Harold Wilson appointed a Minister for Drought, Denis Howell, and launched massive public information campaigns urging people to share baths and place bricks in their toilet cisterns to save water. In some of the worst-hit areas, such southwest England, North Wales and Yorkshire, residents relied entirely on street standpipes for their water supply for several weeks as reservoirs dropped to unprecedented levels. Should we expect a severe drought warning this summer? The Environment Agency has not indicated that it is expecting to issue a warning for severe drought, with the most affected areas currently under a drought warning. Meteorologists have observed that unlike previous droughts in the UK, which typically follow several months of low rainfall, this summer has had the hallmarks of a 'flash drought' - where dry weather comes suddenly, and to a more extreme extent. July was the driest month in southern England since records began nearly 200 years ago.