Schools forced to close in parts of southeast England after taps run dry in heatwave (2024)

Residents in parts of southeast England are being urged to use water only for "essential purposes" and several schools have been forced to close, as water supplies are squeezed in the hot weather.

The taps ran dry in Rotherfield primary school in Crowborough, East Sussex, at 1.15pm on Monday afternoon, and the school has remained closed since.

Headteacher Kate Bishop said only a little water was "dribbling through" the taps on Wednesday, when temperatures in the town were forecast to reach 27C.

"We cannot ensure the correct sanitation to keep the children safe," she told Sky News.

"And in such hot weather, we've been given some bottled water, but it certainly wouldn't be enough to keep about 213 children and about 40 staff hydrated for the day."

Mark Cross Church of England and Wadhurst Church of England primary schools were also closed on Wednesday, while sixth-formers at the town's Beacon Academy were told to go to an alternative site because of the lack of water.

South East Water, which supplies drinking water to 2.2 million people in the region, said demand for water in the heat had outstripped supply.

It pumped enough extra water over the weekend to supply the equivalent of four towns the size of Eastbourne, and has now set up bottled water stations for residents in four areas.

The water company has asked customers in an area stretching from Haywards Heath to Canterbury Castle to use water for "essential purposes" only.

Daniela Schmidt, professor in palaeobiology at Bristol University, said increased water efficiency is "alien on these green and traditionally water rich islands".

"But we need to increase supply and reduce demand to avoid larger risks."

Increased reservoir storage, reusing water and changing the way we use land are vital to increasing resilience against droughts, she said.

Headteacher Ms Bishop added: "I'm concerned that we'll get the children back for a week next week, and then if it gets hot again, what's going to happen? We're not prepared [for this]. And we've been given no guidance."

South East Water's incident manager Nick Bell said: "We are very sorry to all our customers who are currently without water or with low pressure.

"We know this is a difficult time for customers affected and among those are schools which have had to close.

"We are doing all we can to restore supplies, which is why we are asking our customers to use water for essential tasks only, such as cooking, cleaning and hygiene."

It comes after a heatwave struck swathes of the UK from the northwest to the south east, with temperatures reaching 32.2C in Chertsey, Surrey, on Saturday - marking the hottest day of the year so far.

The hot weather is set to continue across much of England over the next few days, with temperatures forecast to hit 28C in London and 27C in Manchester.

NHS chiefs have warned the number of people seeking emergency help will rise as the hot weather continues across the UK.

Yesterday, the government's environment adviser criticised weather forecasters for being happy about hot weather, as rivers in the typically wet northwest shrivelled.

How has climate change affected hot weather?

Climate change is making heatwaves hotter and last longer all around the world.

Dr Vikki Thompson, climate scientist at Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), said all across Britain "extended periods of hot weather have doubled in length since the period 1961-1990".

"Southeast England has seen the greatest changes - with a tripling of warm spells."

Last year, a prolonged dry spell and record heat tipped swathes of England into drought, as parks turned yellow, reservoirs shrank and fish had to be rescued from shrivelled rivers.

Two Environment Agency areas - East Anglia, and Devon and Cornwall - remain in drought.

In March, the government's climate and infrastructure advisers warned of a possible second summer of water shortages and hosepipe bans.

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