As of 10 August 2026, roughly 71% of England is in official drought, per government and Environment Agency figures, after England's driest July on record in a…
Rainfall from October 1975 to August 1976 fell to 43% of average at Kew. Cheltenham hit 35.9C on 3 July, and parts of Devon and Dorset went 45 days without rain. Parliam…
Three consecutive years where warm, dry summers were followed by dry, cool winters, so groundwater and reservoirs never got the chance to fully recharge. Levels were onl…
The UK recorded 38.5C at Faversham, Kent, its first-ever confirmed 38C-plus reading at the time. Impact was comparatively moderate because the wet winter of 2002-03 had…
Around 20 million people faced hosepipe-type restrictions at the drought's peak. It ended abruptly: the wettest April-to-September period ever recorded arrived in summer…
Met Office rated summer 2018 jointly the hottest UK summer on record (with 1976, 2003, 2006) at the time. The Saddleworth Moor and Winter Hill fires burned over 36 sq km…
Coningsby hit 40.3C on 19 July 2022, the UK's first-ever 40C reading. England's July rainfall was 35% of average, the driest since 1935. The Environment Agency declared…
Spring 2025 was England's sixth-driest on record; June 2025 its second-hottest. Drought was declared across five areas by mid-August 2025, concentrated in the north and…
July 2026 brought just 10% of the long-term average rainfall, England's driest July on record since 1836. On 29 July 2026 the Environment Agency declared drought across…
By 10 August 2026, government figures put roughly 71.3% of England in drought as the central Midlands and north-east joined. Reservoirs sat at 69% of capacity, 11.6 poin…
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