Historic drought in the UK transforms landscapes and affects millions of people

Emergency services in England and Wales responded to almost 400 wildfire incidents in July, while record-breaking blazes swept through the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.

Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, is one of many green landscapes scorched by this summer’s extreme heat. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters.Cities and rural areas across England an

d Wales are experiencing one of the worst droughts in recent history. July 2026 is on course to become the driest July ever recorded in official records, driven by successive heatwaves that have transformed traditionally green landscapes into dry, brown ground.The official declaration issued by the E

nvironment Agency in England and Natural Resources Wales covers half of England and the entirety of Wales. It is the third event of its kind in the past five years and has been triggered by four record-breaking heatwaves since May.Impacts on water resources and agricultu

reDuring July, England recorded just 7% of

its average rainfall, while southern England received only 1%. As the drought intensified, the River Thames at Reading fell to its lowest level on record. Although there is no immediate threat to drinking water supplies, around 23 million people are facing restrictions on water use.Agriculture is suffering severely as a r

esult of the lack of rainfall and soaring temperatures. Farmers have been bringing forward harvests to avoid losing entire crops. At Riverford Organic Farmers, located in Buckfastleigh, Devon, three of the site’s four reservoirs ran dry at the beginning of the season, something that had never happened in the farm’s 40-year history.Speaking about the challenges

Original Record.

This archived record authored by ‘Helena Mottram’ at ‘METEORED (Your Weather)’ was recovered from data set:

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