Drought officially declared for eight areas of England

Eight areas of England are formally in a drought due to high temperatures and low rainfall.

The drought areas are Devon and Cornwall Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and the East Midlands

The group met earlier this summer to discuss the lack of rainfall and decided to put the country in prolonged dry weather status, the first of four emergency dry weather stages.

Now, the country has been tipped into that second stage.

The Irrigation options are diminishing with reservoirs being emptied fast, and losses of between 10% and 50% are expected for crops including carrots, onions, sugar beet, apples and hops.

The last time a drought was announced was in 2018.

Thirteen EA monitored indicator rivers are at the lowest levels ever recorded and soil moisture deficit is comparable to that seen at the end of the 1976 drought.

Drought officially declared for eight areas of England

Defra and the Environment Agency are urging water companies to continue with their precautionary planning to protect essential supplies in the event of a dry Autumn."