The hot topic of this scalding summer is the water scarcity and how the globe is dealing with it. In the face of climate change, globalisation and social media, we are repeatedly reminded that summers are getting hotter and that responding to this sooner rather than later is important to protect our environment and way of life. With each coming summer, we are notified that a new heat record has been reached, exacerbating forest fires across America, Europe and the rest of the world. By now, dryness, droughts and fires are expected in places like the South-West of North America and Southern Europe. It would take a forest fire in Ireland to shock the world as we get used to this normal. We are rapidly realising that we have to over-prepare and brace ourselves for surprising changes in our own cities.

The map of the UK went red this summer. The National Drought Group recently declared an official drought throughout vast areas of the UK and more regions are expected to be added soon as well. Following this prolonged dry period, temporary bans on things like hose pipes and lawn sprinklers may be placed as part of a plan in dealing with droughts.

Although it is surprising, the causes for the droughts in the UK are due to the same factors as everywhere else: reduced rainfall, overuse, leaks, etc. There are ways the UK may deal with drought that are common and others that are more unique to its geography, such as cutting non-essential use of water compared to using desalination plants or taking more water from rivers. There is great room for improvement where waste is concerned, as the BBC reported that up to three billion litres of water are lost in the UK every day.

In the US, droughts are hitting predictable areas with more severe effects. This month, stories of preoccupying water shortages in the American South-West have dealt with scorched farming fields, surging cotton prices and new rules on access to water from the Colorado River. In the hardest hit cotton-producing state, Texas, farmers have suffered from dramatically reduced rainfall for the past year. One farmer cited in The Wall Street Journal said his fields have received only about 3 inches of rain from the commonly expected 17 to 18 inches. At the same time, measures to protect the Colorado River are being made to reduce water consumption and maximise the use of river water and by limiting its use for farming. In some cases, farmers are even being paid not to farm.

Across the border, the water crisis has been developing in Mexico for years, yet it is during this year’s particularly severe dry spell that emergency water rationing has affected wealthy states such as Nuevo Leon. For months, Monterrey, a city sometimes referred to as “the richest in Latin America”, has been dealing with intense water rationing measures as its dams run dangerously close (as in 1% capacity) to drying up altogether.

Scheduled water access has imposed lifestyle changes to the majority of the population, while some groups have blockaded highways as their supply is cut for weeks on end. Desperate times call for desperate measures: the Mexican Air Force has gone so far as to bombard clouds to increase chances of precipitation and a group from the catholic community, including the state’s governor, attended a public mass to pray for rain. New agreements have been made to import water from other parts of the country to Nuevo Leon—a state that has experienced immense population growth due to its employment opportunities.