The UK Government has classified the country’s water shortage as a “nationally significant incident” and issued new public guidance after a meeting of the National Drought Group. In a press release dated 12 August, the Environment Agency asked residents to delete old emails and photos to help lower water consumption at data centres, which rely on large volumes of water for cooling. Officials said five areas of England are now formally in drought and another six are experiencing prolonged dry conditions following the driest six-month spell to July since 1976. River levels on the Wye and Ely Ouse are at record lows. Other recommended measures include installing rain-water butts, repairing household leaks promptly and taking shorter showers. Industry specialists have questioned the impact of email deletion on overall demand, noting that data-centre cooling is mostly driven by real-time computing loads. Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s director of water, defended the advice, saying that “simple, everyday choices” can support broader efforts to preserve river ecosystems while longer-term infrastructure and climate-resilience plans are developed.