The \u00a0United Kingdom\u00a0 is currently facing one of the worst \u00a0droughts\u00a0 in decades. The past six months have been recorded as the \u00a0driest period\u00a0 since 1976, with five regions officially declared in drought and six more potentially joining the list if the shortage of rainfall continues. As August begins, the country is enduring its fourth \u00a0heat wave\u00a0 of summer, prompting the government to classify this drought as “an incident of national importance.” This line of action underlines the urgency of the crisis confronting the nation.<\/p>\n
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While some regions in \u00a0Spain\u00a0 are also grappling with severe drought conditions, Spaniards are generally more accustomed to this climate phenomenon than the British. In response to the crisis, the \u00a0UK government\u00a0 has initiated measures to tackle the situation, one of which includes publishing a guide detailing how citizens can conserve water at home. A surprising tip from this guide is to “delete emails and old photos because data centers require large amounts of water to cool their systems.”<\/p>\n
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According to \u00a0Helen Wakeham\u00a0, the Water Management Director at the \u00a0UK Environment Agency\u00a0, “The current situation is of national importance, so we call on all citizens to play their part in reducing pressure on our water environment.” This plea is certainly valid; encouraging citizens to conserve water during a time of scarcity is a prudent approach. However, the practicality and effectiveness of some of the suggested measures remain questionable.<\/p>\n
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While most of the recommendations put forth by the government are reasonable, there is a particular suggestion regarding email deletion whose effectiveness is highly dubious. The \u00a0National Drought Group\u00a0 has proposed several practical measures to conserve water, including:<\/p>\n
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While the first six recommendations present clear and actionable solutions for citizens to conserve water, the last suggestion regarding email deletion appears to have minimal impact on overall water consumption. Although it’s true that data centers need water for cooling through \u00a0evaporation\u00a0, the act of deleting emails and photos is unlikely to lead to significant water savings. The process of searching for and removing these files probably consumes more energy and water than simply leaving the files stored. Therefore, while the intent behind the advice may be noble, its \u00a0practicality\u00a0 is questionable.<\/p>\n
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Image | Nadas Photography<\/a><\/p>\n More information can be found on the official website of the United Kingdom Government<\/a>.<\/p>\n In \u00a0Xataka\u00a0, there is also a discussion about the state of Spanish reservoirs and how they will cope with the prolonged heat following recent periods of rain that have left them overflowing.<\/p>\n