There have been a lot of comparisons on social media with the drought of 1976. And there also seems to be a common topic of people denying that climate change is a factor in the current heatwave, as well as claiming that the health alerts (and, recently wildfire warnings) issued by the government are excessive because “we managed OK in 1976”.

Well, I do remember 1976, and yes, I did manage OK. But I’ve also taken the time to check over the actual data and news reports from the time rather than relying on my memory. I would suggest that anyone else of my generation recalling 1976 with rose tinted spectacles does the same.

So, some actual comparisons. The drought in 1976 was worse than this year. Much worse. It started earlier, and came off the back of an unusually dry preceding winter and autumn. So water levels started low, and got lower. This year, we had a fairly normal winter, and June was actually a bit wetter than normal. This year’s drought really only started in July. Although that’s had a completely different effect that wasn’t present in 1976. I’ll get to that later.

Also, while privatised water companies are everyone’s favourite villain at the moment, the reality is that our water infrastructure is much better than it was in 1976 – due, in part, to significant investment in the water network in the decades following 1976. We may complain about hosepipe bans now, but in 1976 there were some locations where you could turn on your tap and nothing would come out. Some rural villages had to be supplied by standpipes, people would take water carriers to the outlet and carry it back home – almost going back to concept of the village well. Meantime, the government ran advertising campaigns urging people to use less water – sharing a bath with a family member was one of the suggestions!

On the other hand, the heat wasn’t as severe in 1976. It was hotter than normal, and stayed hot for longer, but the maximum temperatures were significantly below this year’s highest. Despite that, there were significant health impacts. The heatwave was the cause of 20% excess deaths, and saw a significant increase in hospital admissions. If Met Office health alerts had been a thing back then, they’d have been issued on several occasions during that summer.

1976 also saw several major forest and heathland fires, particularly across southern England. Unlike this time, though, there was little direct effect on human habitation. One of the big differences this year is that our wetter than average June – unlike the dry June 50 years ago – encouraged plant growth. But those overgrown plants have subsequently dried out and become a tinderbox. Which is why this year is now the record year for wildfires, and there’s no sign of an end to it yet.

The biggest difference between then and now, though, is that a heatwave and drought is no longer rare. When it happened in 1976, it was the first time in living memory. We didn’t get another equivalent drought until 1995 – which was actually drier than 1976, although, oddly enough, we don’t really remember it now. The work to improve the water infrastructure after 1976 had done its job by then, so although 1995 was drier from a meteorological perspective it had less effect on everyday life.

But since then, we’ve had major heatwaves in 1997, 2003, 2006, 2022 and now 2026. A once in a lifetime event has become once every few years. And that’s the real evidence of climate change. The weather varies from year to year, we get wet summers, dry summers, warm summers, cool summers, and everything in between. But the warm summers are getting warmer. And the record breaking summers are happening more often.

So just because “we managed OK” in 1976 doesn’t mean we can ignore what’s happening now. There are some lessons we need to start learning, very quickly.