Drought declared across half of England after hot, dry weather

Half of England has been declared in drought after exceptionally low rainfall and prolonged high ‌temperatures depleted rivers and reservoirs, Britain's Environment Agency ​said ⁠on Wednesday.

* July has seen just ‌7% of its ‌long-term average rainfall so far, falling to 1% in parts of southern England. Large areas ‌of central, eastern and southern England are experiencing a ⁠rapidly developing "flash drought."

* Seven regions — London, East Anglia, the Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex, are now officially in drought.

This aerial image shows All Saints Church surrounded by the scorched grass on Blackheath in south east London. AFP

* Some 78% ​of England's rivers are below normal levels ‌and reservoir storage has fallen to 75.3% of capacity. Seven water companies have introduced water-use restrictions ⁠affecting about 23 million customers.

* The Environment Agency said this was England's third drought in five years, following ​those in ‌2022 and 2025.

* The Met Office ‌on Wednesday confirmed a new UK and England June temperature record of 38˚C.

* The figure ‌exceeded the ‌previously reported provisional reading of ⁠37.7C and is now the highest ‌June temperature recorded in the United Kingdom.

* The Met Office also confirmed June ⁠temperature records for Wales and Northern Ireland, ​while rejecting some provisional records from stations that did not meet required standards.

Reuters