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Homes across Kent, Sussex and Leicestershire without water during heatwave
Record May temperatures and high demand left homes without water as the UK Health Security Agency kept an amber heat-health alert in place.
Record May temperatures of 35C at Heathrow on Tuesday triggered water supply failures across Eastbourne, with a burst main in the Decoy Drive area leaving homes without tap water until repairs returned supplies to 168 properties.
Climate change has made breaking May temperature records around three times more likely, transforming a one-in-100 year event into a one-in-33 year occurrence, as high-pressure systems allowed exceptional heat to build across the UK.
Coastguard responded to five incidents across three days, urging beachgoers to call 999 in emergencies, while the UK Health Security Agency issued an amber alert through Wednesday and Dr Anya Gopfert urged vulnerable populations to take "simple precautions."
Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde called the water crisis "appalling," attributing delays to crews needing access to private land, while South East Water incident manager Steve Benton acknowledged the disruption was "deeply frustrating and incredibly inconvenient."
Met Office analysis indicates record-breaking heat now arrives roughly every 33 years instead of every century, positioning water networks and emergency services as facing recurring strain as temperatures remain in the high 20s and low 30s through the week.