England Puts 71.3% of Land in Drought After Driest July Since 1836
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 10
England Puts 71.3% of Land in Drought After Driest July Since 1836
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 10
Summary
71.3% of England was placed in drought on Monday after the National Drought Group added the East Midlands, Kent and Sussex, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and Solent and South Downs.
45 million people now live in drought areas and more than 27 million face water-use restrictions, with officials warning conditions will worsen without significant, sustained rainfall.
July was England and Wales' driest since records began in 1836, south-east England got just 1% of normal rainfall, and some parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex have gone 59 days without rain.
Only 14% of rivers are at normal levels, five reservoirs are exceptionally low, and heat and dry ground are already straining farming, fish stocks and wildfire response, including a New Forest blaze spanning about 247 acres.
Amber heat-health alerts cover nearly all of England through Friday, while officials and climate advisers say hotter, drier summers are becoming more likely as climate change raises the risk of flash droughts.