Drought Declared Across Sussex as Temperature Records Smashed

On the 12th August, the Environment Agency declared a drought across most of southern England including the whole of Sussex. Hose pipe bans came into force in many parts of the county. This prolonged spell of dry weather which started in the south east with a only 50-90% of the average rainfall. The drought has been punctuated by two heat waves with new national temperature records set on the 19th July.

The affects of the heat were detailed in the Met Office's July report:

"Pre-emptive actions were reported on the rail network, including the closure of the East Coast Main Line between London and York on the 19th. Impacts to travel, particularly rail services, began to be reported more widely with speed restrictions and service cancellations due to overhead line damage, track deformation and signalling equipment failure. The heat also damaged the runway surfaces at both Luton and RAF Brize Norton, causing the suspension of flights.

The 19th saw the peak of the heatwave and widespread associated impacts. Thousands of homes in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and NE England lost power after key infrastructure components overheated. On the roads sand was spread in several counties to counter melting surfaces. The rail network saw further service cancellations and, after several trackside incidents, Avanti West Coast ceased all operations on the West Coast Main Line between London and Scotland.

Reports of wildfires began to emerge across large parts of England, particularly Greater London and the south-east. Many of the fires started on open land then spread to nearby properties. Several fire and rescue services had record-breaking numbers of calls. Amongst the most serious incidents was a fire that destroyed as many as 19 homes in Wennington, East London, also damaging a further 56 properties. London Fire Brigade had its busiest day since World War II.

There was also a spike in open water-related deaths attributed mainly to the very high temperatures. Reports indicated a significant spike in health-related 999 calls over the 18th and 19th."

The National Farmer's Union stated;

"We cannot and should not be complacent about our ability to produce food.

Met Office figures for July 2022 show only 24% of the amount of rainfall seen on average during July. You can read more about this at {the link below].

We are keen to promote policies that link food security to water security, and policies that recognise water as an essential element of food production."