The National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) used the occasion to highlight a growing concern: young people are the most at-risk group when it comes to fatal water incidents. Data from the Water Incident Database (WAID) shows that between 2020 and 2024, 26 per cent of all unintentional drowning deaths involved individuals within that age range.
Experts point to warmer weather as a significant factor in the increase of such fatalities. As temperatures rise, many teenagers and young adults head to rivers, lakes, and coastal waters to cool off—often unaware of the dangers posed by open water. Research from both the Royal Life Saving Society UK and Bournemouth University reveals that the number of drowning deaths triples on days when air temperatures exceed 25°C, compared to the seasonal average.
In response to this worrying trend, water safety authorities are urging people to learn an essential self-rescue technique: floating. The technique, which has been proven to work in both fresh and salt water, helps individuals regain control of their breathing and remain calm until help arrives or they can swim to safety. The method encourages people to tilt their head back, keep their ears submerged, and move their limbs gently to stay afloat—even if their legs sink.
To promote awareness, the NWSF launched a new national campaign on 25 July called “Find Your Float”. The initiative encourages people to discover what floating feels like for them by practising the technique in a safe, supervised environment, such as a local swimming pool or lifeguarded beach. A series of events were held across the UK to coincide with the campaign’s launch.
Professor Mike Tipton, Chair of the NWSF and a leading voice in global water safety, stressed the life-saving importance of this skill. “A couple of hours devoted to ‘finding your float’ could save decades of life,” he said. “With over 6,100 years of life lost each year to drowning in the UK, we must ensure that the young in particular are equipped with behaviours that could save their lives.”
