As the UK swelters in heatwaves driven by the El Nino weather pattern, which has pushed up global temperatures in recent weeks, the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has today launched a new inquiry on heat resilience and sustainable cooling.

The Met Office’s Climate Data Portal went live yesterday, giving organisations improved access to climate data and other resources, allowing them to better understand and respond to climate change.

Plans to maintain water supply resilience have been discussed by National Drought Group members amidst ongoing hot and dry weather.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is warning over lack of Government progress on climate change and cutting emissions, saying its confidence in the UK meeting its goals from 2030 onwards is now “markedly less than it was” in its previous assessment a year ago.

With temperatures climbing, the Environment Agency is asking the public to help protect rivers and watercourses this summer by reporting sightings of fish in distress and algal blooms.

Yorkshire Water is reporting that water usage has risen by 130 million litres a day during the recent hot weather – the increase is enough to supply the equivalent of the whole of Bradford which has a population of more than 550,000 people.

Scottish Water has seen customer demand increase by 20% during the dry weather - as a result, the amount of water the water company has put into the network has had to be increased by 150 million litres per day in the past two weeks.

A spate of new reports from the climate community have highlighted extraordinary temperatures both on land and at sea. The extraordinary sea surface temperatures are ringing alarm bells, according to Dr Anthony Rea, Director of Infrastructure at the World Meteorological Organization and head of the Global Climate Observing System.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is warning Scotland to brace for significant water scarcity, saying the “situation is deteriorating fast”. 

Southern Water is warning customers to use water wisely as demand for water in Kent soars - outstripping supply.