Lower rainfall means hosepipe ban to remain, Thames Water says

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Lower rainfall means hosepipe ban to stay in place Image source, Getty Images Published 1 hour ago The Thames Water area saw just over a third of the rainfall between March and September recorded in the same period two years ago, the company has said. The Environment Agency declared a drought across London and the Thames Valley 100 days ago on 29 July. Thames Water said while recent rain had "helped some rivers and reservoirs recover… months of sustained rainfall are needed to rebuild supplies" so a hosepipe ban would remain in place.

On Tuesday, Farmoor Reservoir near Oxford was at 76% capacity and reservoir storage across London stood at 56%. Thames Water said between March and September, 194mm of rainfall was recorded, just under 50% of the long-term average (LTA). Over the same time in 2024, 570mm was recorded, which was 145.6% of the LTA. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The water supply was much healthier when this wing surfer took to Farmoor Reservoir in November 2023 Julie Morton, Thames Water's head of water resources, said: "It's 100 days since the Environment Agency declared drought and we have faced one of our most challenging summers in recent memory.

"Record-breaking dry weather and five heatwaves have put significant strain on water resources in our region. "The recent rain has been welcome, however, recovery from a drought that developed over many months will take time, particularly when the ground is so dry. "The forecast looks relatively dry for the first half of November, and we need sustained rainfall through the autumn and winter to replenish water resources ahead of next spring and summer."

More news from Berkshire Watch the latest episode of South Today Listen to the latest news from Berkshire Get in touch Your Voice Contact form Contact form Related topics Berkshire Thames Water London Drought More on this story Hosepipe ban to continue throughout autumn Published 17 October Thames Water says hosepipe ban could last months yet Published 24 September Thames Water grateful as use falls after hosepipe ban Published 19 August Thames Water issues hosepipe ban for 10m customers Published 23 July Related internet links Thames Water

Read the original article on bbc.co.uk

What we found (1)

BBC News reports that Thames Water is keeping its hosepipe ban after a dry spring and summer, and gives clear, sourced rainfall and reservoir figures. The article reports a declared drought, record dry weather and five heatwaves, but never says that warming makes droughts and heat extremes more frequent or more severe. That gap is minor, and nothing else in the piece misleads.

Leaves out the climate link
Minor
“The Environment Agency declared a drought across London and the Thames Valley”
Why this matters
The BBC reports the drought declaration in its own voice and then lets Thames Water describe "record-breaking dry weather and five heatwaves". Nowhere does it link these events to warming.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away seeing the drought and the heatwaves as a run of bad weather with no wider cause or trend behind them.
The context
The documented record shows that human-caused warming has made agricultural and ecological drought and hot extremes more frequent or more severe. No study attributing this particular drought was supplied. The gap is therefore general background and stays minor.
How we know
- On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
- Elsewhere in the article“Record-breaking dry weather and five heatwaves”
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “warming”.
Show it in the article

What it gets right

“194mm of rainfall was recorded, just under 50% of the long-term average (LTA)”
The BBC gives the rainfall figure against the long-term average as well as against a single wet year. A reader can see how dry the period really was, not just how it compares with 2024.
“The Environment Agency declared a drought across London and the Thames Valley 100 days ago on 29 July”
The BBC names the body that made the drought declaration and gives the date, so the official status of the drought is clear and correctly attributed.
“Farmoor Reservoir near Oxford was at 76% capacity and reservoir storage across London stood at 56%”
The BBC gives concrete, dated reservoir levels, so readers can judge the state of supplies for themselves.

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Lower rainfall means hosepipe ban to remain, Thames Water says

Leaves out the climate link

What it gets right

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