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The south east has seen just 1% of typical rainfall for July, while Devon has experienced its 50th day with no rain.
Drought status has been declared for half of England Seven areas of England covering roughly half the country are now officially in drought after record low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures.
Rivers are running low, farmers are having to harvest crops early, wildfire risk is increasing, and millions of people are living under restrictions on water use, according to the government.
The seven areas in drought are East Anglia; Hertfordshire and the whole of London; Thames Valley; Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; Devon and Cornwall; the West Midlands; Wessex and (covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and south Gloucestershire).
After the wet winter, water resources were healthy in early spring but the position has deteriorated rapidly. Another six areas are now in ‘prolonged dry weather’, including Kent and East Sussex; Cumbria and Lancashire; Greater Manchester, Me
rseyside and Cheshire; East Midlands; Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and the rest of Solent and the South Downs. Just Yorkshire and the North East remain in ‘normal status’, though the Environment Agency says it is keeping the situation ‘under
close review’. What is a ‘flash drought’?There is no one definition of drought. Different types include a lack of rainfall, known as meteorological
drought, and low soil moistur
e which impacts plant and crop growth, which is called agricultural drought.When there are impacts on the wider water environment including low flows in rivers, falling reservoir levels and declining groundwater
Original Record.
This archived record authored by ‘Catherine Early’ at ‘METEORED (Your Weather)’ was recovered from data set:
English