Heat wave leaves reservoirs almost empty, parks scorched brown and gardens dried out

Heat wave leaves reservoirs almost empty, parks scorched brown and gardens dried out

Look What Happened To Our Green And Pleasant Country: Heat Wave Is Draining Reservoirs, Parks Scorched Brown And Gardens Parched

  • Britain’s green and pleasant land has turned BROWN as the heat waves bite
  • In the coming days, tropical weather will provide sultry heat to about 29C
  • The bleak-looking landscape may not change much until October, with the Met Office forecasting a blistering three months ahead

The green and pleasant land of Britain yesterday seemed like a distant memory, with almost empty reservoirs, brown-scorched parks and parched gardens.

Princess Anne may have thought she’d seen it all in her seven decades, but she looked a little taken aback by the barren scenes yesterday when she visited The Game Fair at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire.

And the sad-looking landscape may not change much until October, with the With Office predicting a blistering three months ahead.

Over the next few days, tropical weather will bring a balmy heat of around 29C (84F), while large parts of the country will be ravaged by heavy but short-lived showers pouring in from the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters warned that the south and east in particular will be hot and humid.

Temperatures will rise from Monday when the thunderstorms are over.

Princess Anne may have thought she'd seen it all in her seven decades, but she looked a little taken aback by the barren scenes yesterday when she visited The Game Fair at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

Princess Anne may have thought she’d seen it all in her seven decades, but she looked a little taken aback by the barren scenes yesterday when she visited The Game Fair at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

Looking rough: the fairways at Ely Golf Club were dried out yesterday, although the greens look like desert oases

Looking rough: the fairways at Ely Golf Club were dried out yesterday, although the greens look like desert oases

Hampshire: a landscape in ruins (Photo: General view of Odiham Castle and the dry ground around it

Hampshire: a landscape in ruins (Photo: General view of Odiham Castle and the dry ground around it

About 1 to 1.5 inches (30mm to 40mm) of rain could fall Monday and Tuesday in northern, central and western areas, but “nothing too disruptive” and “useful for farmers and gardeners,” Met Office forecaster said Tom Morgan. “Many areas will be very hot and humid with a lot of cloud in the area.”

He added. “Temperatures will be as high as 20C (68F) in the early hours, meaning uncomfortable nights of sleep are ahead.

‘The strange rumble of thunder can be heard in remote areas, and it will be quite stuffy and humid – typical of conditions in tropical countries.

The first garden hose ban, announced Friday by Southern Water for one million households in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, is expected to be followed by further calls to limit water use.

Another 17 million are facing restrictions, with other suppliers including Thames Water, South East Water and Welsh Water warning they may have to act.

South Wales: How dry is my valley?  (Pictured: Llwyn Onn Reservoir, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales)

South Wales: how dry is my valley? (Pictured: Llwyn Onn Reservoir, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales)

Yesterday the water level in Welsh Water’s Llwyn Onn reservoir at Merthyr Tydfil, which serves Cardiff, remained alarmingly low.

At Ely Golf Club in Cambridgeshire, the well-watered greens contrasted sharply with brown grass.

Across the country village cricketers played on rock-hard fields, risking being cut if they dove for the catches. Deryn Fowler, 26, who plays for Blunham in Bedfordshire, said: ‘I took a layer of skin off my knee when I dove to save a four.’

There’s little hope of rain or a drop in temperatures, forecasters warn, with fall’s cooling temperatures arriving later than usual.

The Met Office says it’s seven times more likely that July through the end of September will be much hotter than usual than much cooler.

August will see highs of 35C (95F) while in September 30C, with nearly 30C (86F) possibly even in October. That would beat the 29.9C recorded on October 1, 2011.

The Met Office said, “There is an increase in the likelihood of warmer-than-average conditions.”

…And even if it DOES rain, it’s the wrong kind

While a couple sheltered under an umbrella in rain-stricken Cumbria yesterday, the hydrocephalus warned that the forecasted heavy showers won’t help reduce the risk of garden hose bans – because it’s the ‘wrong kind of rain’.

Suppliers say they need light rain for long periods of time because heavy rain on dry soil doesn’t penetrate, but simply drains into sewers or even causes flash flooding.

One said: ‘We need sustained, regular rainfall to soak the land and replenish underground aquifers.’