We love talking about the weather in the UK, but in the last few weeks, it’s been pretty much our only topic of conversation. It got seriously hot in the UK – we’re talking more than 40C in some places. Frying an egg on the floor weather (if anyone actually does that).
But if you were thinking now is the perfect time to give the grass in your garden a good water? You might be about to get some bad news. A hosepipe ban is being brought in across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as of next Friday, and the rest of the UK could be next.
This is the first hosepipe ban in the region since 2012, and will affect around 1.5 million people. But Southern Water has said it’s a ‘vital’ move to protect the region’s rivers.
Not only have we had a scorcher, there’s been hardly any rainfall either. This month, there was only 15.8mm of rain in England – 24 per cent of what we’d usually see. July has actually been the driest we’ve had in England since 1911, and the second driest on record ever.
But what does a hosepipe ban actually mean? Essentially, it bans a lot of personal outdoor water use. That’s not just watering your garden, that’s washing your car and filling your paddling pool too. Oh, and keeping your ornamental fountain going, if you happen to have one of those.
For now, there’s no news on whether the hosepipe ban will hit the rest of the UK, but tons of water companies have been warning people to limit their water use. Yorkshire Water has even kindly suggested listening to Viva La Vida by Coldplay in the shower (4 minutes 2 seconds exactly) to cut down your shower time.
ICYMI: July has apparently been the driest on record in England since 1911.