National Drought Group meets to discuss preparations

The National Drought Group has meet to discuss preparations for extreme weather.

The group heard the the changing climate means we will see more extreme weather in the coming years.

The meeting was chaired by the Environment Agency and attended by water minister Emma Hardy.

Currently, water resources are healthy following the wettest 12 months on record in England.

However, the group agreed that flood and drought should be viewed as different sides of the same coin and England needs to be prepared for an increase of both in the coming years.

Environment agency director of water, Helen Wakeham said: "Heavier rainfall and drier summers are the shape of things to come, and this will be an enormous challenge over the next few decades.  

"As well as preparing for floods, we must ensure we are resilient to drought, and we cannot be complacent even when water resources are healthy.

"Water companies must deliver on their commitments to improve infrastructure and rollout smart water meters, but we can all take small steps to reduce demand such as installing a water butt to capture rain to water the garden."

Water and floods minister Emma Hardy said: "Population growth and climate change is putting tremendous pressure on our water system, and we all saw in 2022 how quickly drought can take hold.  

"We need to be prepared for all eventualities and the government is taking decisive action to improve the resilience of our precious water supplies.  

"This Government will secure investment to upgrade our crumbling water infrastructure, which in turn will help fix leaks and ensure water is used more efficiently."