Half of England officially in ‘exceptionally serious’ drought

Half of England is officially in drought, with July set to be the driest on record after winter floods, the Environment Agency has said.

The “flash drought” developed quickly because of unusually low rainfall and high temperatures.
The seven areas officially 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, and Wessex (covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and south Gloucestershire).

Helen Wakeham, the director of water at the Environment Agency and chair of the National Drought Group, said: “The hot and dry weather means we are currently using water faster than nature can replenish it.

“A second consecutive summer drought is an exceptionally serious situation and one that will have long-lasting impacts on our environment, wildlife and the economy.

“We want everyone to stay safe and hydrated during the hot weather but every drop we can save is a drop more for nature and agriculture.”

Wednesday’s announcement means England has experienced drought in three of the past five years: 2022, 2025 and 2026.

July has had only 7% of the expected rainfall, falling to 1% across southern England, with no substantial rainfall on the way. Some parts of Devon have not experienced any rain for 50 consecutive days.

The Environment Agency said record winter rainfall had helped to replenish reservoirs and groundwater, but reservoir storage has now fallen to 7.4% below the average for this time of year.