UK weather: More areas move closer to drought as dry spell shows no sign of ending

Large parts of England are edging closer to drought after weeks of exceptionally dry weather, with more than 20 million people set to be affected by hosepipe bans by the end of the week. Forecasts also show little meaningful rainfall arriving where it is needed most.

The National Drought Group has confirmed that several regions across southern, central and eastern England are now in ‘prolonged dry weather’, the final stage before drought is officially declared.

East Anglia, the West Midlands, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and London, Wessex, the Thames, Solent and the South Downs are all now under prolonged dry weather status.

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The announcement comes as Thames Water prepares to introduce a hosepipe ban from Thursday, taking the number of people living under restrictions to more than 20 million across England.

Weeks without rain are taking their toll

The worsening conditions follow one of the driest periods in recent years. Some parts of the UK have now gone more than a month without measurable rainfall, while England has received only around 3% of its average July rainfall so far.

Large parts of England are edging closer to drought after weeks of exceptionally dry weather.

The prolonged spell of dry weather has also been accompanied by persistent heat. Parts of the southwest are experiencing their 17th consecutive day of official heatwave conditions on Tuesday, with forecasts indicating the heatwave could extend to 20 consecutive days by the end of

Original Record.

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

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