TEMPORARY bans on using hosepipes to fill up paddling pools might seem like a parochial issue. But such modest efforts as most of England nears drought are a reminder that even countries perceived as perpetually rainy will need to get serious about saving water in a warming world.
Drought is part of many countries’ natural weather cycles, including the UK. But dry conditions are also expected to become more frequent and intense as Earth moves beyond the 1.2°C of climate change we have seen to date.
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The worst is yet to come, which is bad news given how nations are faring today. Almost . France is experiencing its , with forecasts of corn harvests being down by almost a fifth and nuclear power output curbed by warm, low rivers. Half of the US .
This scarcity of water adds to the pressure on the existing global food and energy crises, both linked in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Drought can also lead to more climate change by stressing and ultimately killing forests that act as vital carbon stores.
So what to do? Start taking this vital resource seriously, rather than for granted. That will require behaviour changes as well as technological fixes.
Mandatory water efficiency labels to help people pick better products like toilets and washing machines would be a start: the UK is readying these now. Household water meters are a must. UK water firms’ goal of . We need other big water infrastructure projects too, and we need to start now because they take time. A being built in the south of England won’t be ready until 2028. Better planning is needed: it is inexcusable that the UK’s only major desalination plant is .
As Christine Colvin at The Rivers Trust in the UK puts it: “This dry period needs to bite hard now, so we are ready for the future.” Inaction will result in worse than tears over empty pools.
