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Have you noticed many ‘April showers’ this year? According to the UK Met Office, it’s been a dry April, not as dry as April 2021 however which was one of the driest on record; and yet in April 2020, we witnessed severe flooding brought on by Storm Dennis. Climate Change is making the weather more extreme and unpredictable. In many parts of the world, especially in Africa and parts of Asia, people can feel overwhelmed by floods, and yet at other times wait in desperation for the next rains to ensure they can grow enough food to eat.
Do you think in the UK that we sometimes take water for granted? Have you any idea how much water you use in a week? You might like to try and work it out! The average individual in the UK uses 140 litres of water per day. A typical bath takes 80 litres. A dripping tap can waste 95 litres in a day. How much do you think ‘habits’ influence our water usage? In order to combat climate change, we can all help by changing some of our ‘habits’. Do you normally leave your tap running when you brush your teeth? Do you often leave the basin tap dripping? Do you choose a super long shower? Do you usually leave the tap running whilst doing the washing up – rather than washing up in a bowl? Pumping, treating, delivering, heating and disposing of water all result in carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change. Your challenge is to save water this week – can you be super vigilant and turn off taps when not needed?
Increasingly water issues, made worse by Climate Change, are impacting people all around the world … storms, droughts, melting glaciers, rising sea-levels. The availability of clean drinking water can be affected as droughts dry up springs and floods pollute water sources. Less rain and more floods make it difficult to grow and transport food as well as leading to hygiene and sanitation problems, including water-borne diseases. Children are particularly impacted – getting to school can be difficult and girls often have to spend more time fetching water for their families. WaterAid is a charity that works with partner organisations to help ensure communities around the world have a steady supply of clean water - whatever the weather. You may like to watch this WaterAid video clip to learn a bit more about climate change and water.
When you have made a change to your water-related habits and thought about worldwide water issues, don’t forget to HIT THE RED BUTTON. PS: and if you’re asked to wash your car … remember to save water - use a bucket and sponge and not the hosepipe!
