The Guardian view on drought: hot, dry conditions make inequality starker | Editorial

Water is a vital shared resource, and privatisation has made a just transition harder

Compared with rising heat-related deaths, and devastating wildfires in the Cairngorms and Suffolk,the announcement that the Royal HorticulturalSociety(RHS) is considering moving its hydrangea collection from Surrey to Greater Manchester and North Yorkshire might seem unimportant. But it points to geographical differencesin exposure to globalheating that have arguably never been more evident than this summer, with last month the driest on record. Seven areas of south and east England are officially in drought, along with the whole of Wales.

A drought is less easily measured than a heatwave, which is declared by the Met Office when the maximum temperature exceeds a set threshold on three consecutive days. But the fact that drought is harder to quantify does not make it less damaging. Water shortages are exposing specific vulnerabilities and inequalities, as well as the UK's lack of preparedness for climate change overall.