LONDON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Extreme weather may be over but not its aftermath. Factories and homes across Britain are now facing water shortage caused by the recent snowstorms.

Frozen pipelines across Britain are bursting or leaking as thaw set in, leaving thousands of households running out of water.

At the peak of the shortage, more than 20,000 homes in London were left without water on Sunday. Residents in parts of Britain were urged to use as little water as possible.

It has also affected the operation of major British brands. Chocolate producer Cadbury and automaker Jaguar Land Rover have been forced to shut their factories due to the shortage.

Water suppliers across the country said teams were working to fix damaged pipes. Supplier Thames Water said the number of homes affected was down to about 5,000 by Monday morning.

The lack of running water also compelled dozens of schools to close on Monday. There were reports of shops and supermarkets in the areas affected running short of bottled water.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on his Twitter account Monday that it was "unacceptable" that thousands across the British capital had no water, promising to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Britain was hit by the worst snowstorm in nearly 30 years last week, plunging the temperature to as low as minus 12 degrees Celsius.