The year of the great heatwave

Forty-nine years ago Britain was sweltering under a months-long dry spell and records show it was a degree or two hotter than in our present heatwave this week!

Reservoirs were emptying fast UK-wide - and it was the same here.

Those old enough to remember the summer of 1976 will recall one endless sunny day after another.

The heatwave officially began on June 23, 1976 and lasted, it seemed,  all summer long. But while it was great for families heading to the beach and children playing in the parks, there was a serious side.

For it was preceded by an unusually dry summer and autumn the year before, followed by a drier than usual winter too, all meaning the country faced drought conditions with a major water shortage.

Our rather grainy Glossop Chronicle picture from August 1976 shows the situation at Woodhead, one of the string of reservoirs supplying water to Glossop and towns in Tameside.

The levels in them all were falling fast, and with rain in short supply, the usual flow into the moorland rivers that fed them had turned into a trickle. Even Ladybower Reservoir dried up.

Water boards, as they were called in those days, had introduced hose pipe and sprinkler bans nationally.

As the weeks turned to months  with the dry summer showing no sign of ending, the government of the day passed a Drought Act to enable water rationing and a ‘Minister for Drought’ was appointed.

There was a warning that unless the weather changed, there would be a ban on sports clubs watering cricket pitches, bowling greens and other facilities.

Councils would also be prevented from watering flower beds, ornamental gardens on lawns in public parks.

Standpipes were introduced in some areas and in the south there were devastating heath and forest fires, while crops failed and food prices went up as a result.

The hottest temperature was 35.9°C (96.6 °F), recorded at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on July 3, 1976, and although not record-breaking in itself, it was the length of the heatwave that topped the record books.

Across central England, 1976 was the hottest summer for more than 350 years, with the heatwave lasting 16 consecutive days.

As such the 1976 heatwave was a rarity in its decade and has been used as a benchmark for subsequent heat waves ever since.

Just when would the rains come and the weather break? We’ll bring you more about the great heatwave of 1976 from the files of the Chronicle next week.