LONDON 

A water scarcity alert has been issued for several rivers and estuaries in the east of Scotland as levels approach critical lows amid dry weather and warm temperatures.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said on Friday that six river catchments are experiencing “moderate” scarcity and could be upgraded to “significant” scarcity within about two weeks.

The environmental watchdog said the rivers are now at alert level for water scarcity, meaning pressure on them is building fast.

The River Almond, Tweed, Findhorn, Spey, Dee, and Firth of Forth have all been put on alert.

Several weeks of high temperatures and little rain in July also caused water scarcity levels to drop.

Regulators warned that river flows in some areas have not fully returned to normal, leaving them vulnerable to further extended periods of warm weather.