England agency declares drought across half the country

The Environment Agency has declared an official drought across seven regions of central, eastern, and southern England, an area covering approximately half of the country. The announcement on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, comes as the nation endures its fourth heatwave of the summer, following record-breaking temperatures in May and June.

The affected regions are East Anglia, Hertfordshire and London, the Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex, which includes Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire. Officials describe the situation as a "flash drought," where conditions have developed rapidly after an extremely wet winter due to a dry spring and summer combined with successive heatwaves. England has received just 7% of its expected rainfall for July, with southern England seeing only 1%.

The impacts are already widespread. River levels are exceptionally low in many catchments, and millions of residents are under hosepipe bans as water companies report demand spikes of up to 30% on the hottest days. The agriculture sector is facing early harvests and increased costs, while the risk of wildfires remains high. This...