Announcement means 11 of agency’s 14 areas in England now in drought status after record dry spell
All of south-west England is in drought after some of the driest conditions in nearly 90 years, the Environment Agency has said.
The Wessex area – which includes Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, south Gloucestershire and parts of Wiltshire – has been declared in drought status.
Continue reading...Campaigner Feargal Sharkey says profiteering from firms that dump raw sewage into rivers an ‘obscenity’
The Environment Agency’s pension fund owns stakes in a string of British water firms – despite the watchdog calling for industry bosses to be jailed over shocking pollution levels, the Guardian can reveal.
An analysis of the Environment Agency Pension Fund’s investments shows it holds shares or bonds worth £28m in six of the largest water companies.
Continue reading...Untreated effluent flowed into waterways for more than 1.5m hours, data shows
Water companies in England discharged raw sewage into rivers on more than 200,000 occasions last year, according to data obtained by the Guardian.
The analysis reveals untreated human waste was released into streams and rivers for more than 1.5m hours in 2019.
Continue reading...Northern England will face most severe weather conditions and up to 70mm of rain could fall at highest areas
Parts of England and Wales are bracing for further heavy rain with forecasters warning up to 70mm could fall in some areas.
Northern England is set to see the heaviest rain, with weather conditions so severe, Sunday’s Cycling World Championship route from Leeds to Harrogate was shortened from 284.5km to 261km. Riders were taking a shortcut from near Aysgarth to Leyburn to avoid dangerous roads.
Continue reading...Trillions of dollars needed to avoid ‘climate apartheid’ but this is less than cost of inaction
The world’s readiness for the inevitable effects of the climate crisis is “gravely insufficient”, according to a report from global leaders.
This lack of preparedness will result in poverty, water shortages and levels of migration soaring, with an “irrefutable toll on human life”, the report warns.
Continue reading...Environment Agency analysing Somerset stream but says there are no reports of dead wildlife
A mysterious substance that has turned a tributary of a river in the West Country bright blue is being investigated by the Environment Agency.
Tests are being carried out on the River Frome in Somerset this weekend after the water turned a luminous colour. The Environment Agency said it was treating it as a suspected pollution incident but there were no reports of dead wildlife.
Continue reading...Environment Agency calls for urgent action to protect country from river and coastal floods
Entire communities might need to be moved away from coasts and rivers as the UK takes urgent action to prepare for an average global temperature rise of 4C, the Environment Agency warned.
The agency said on Thursday that difficult decisions would have to be taken in the coming years to make sure the UK was resilient amid flooding that would not be held back by higher land defences.
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