Flood risk forecast amid ongoing UK drought

Cooler, wetter conditions are set to bring a paradoxical risk of flooding to parched parts of the UK this week, as the country grapples with widespread drought following its fifth heatwave of the summer. Heavy rain forecast to fall on hard, sunbaked ground could lead to surface water flooding, even as hosepipe bans now affecting more than 27 million people in England highlight severe water shortages.

The Met Office said an area of rain was expected to spread from the southwest across southern England on Tuesday evening, August 18, marking the first meaningful rainfall for many drought-hit areas in weeks. Deputy Chief Forecaster Mike Silverstone stated that Thursday would bring heavy showers across much of the country, with some potentially intense bursts. "As some of these showers could be intense, there is a chance of some surface water flooding as the rain falls on very dry and hard ground," he said, explaining that sunbaked earth struggles to absorb water quickly.

This forecast arrives as water utilities implement stricter measures. On Tuesday, Wessex Water introduced a hosepipe ban for its 1.4 million customers across Bath, Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. It is the...