London (CNN) — England is notoriously rainy — yet an “exceptionally serious” drought has hit half the nation after successive heat waves have parched the land, shrivelled rivers and put huge pressure on water supplies.
A large stretch of central, eastern and southern England are enduring a “flash drought” brought on by a mix of high temperatures and low rainfall, the Environment Agency announced Wednesday.
In addition to rolling heat waves, the country has been grappling with a dearth of rain — just 7% of the average for this time of year, falling to 1% in some parts of the south. And there is no substantial rain forecast.
“The hot and dry weather means we are currently using water faster than nature can replenish it,” said Helen Wakeham, director of water at the Environment Agency. It’s “an exceptionally serious situation and one that will have long-lasting impacts on our environment, wildlife, and the economy,” she added.
Millions are under hosepipe bans, parched yellow grass has replaced lush green fields and wildfire risk is increasing.
Rivers are running alarmingly low — with 78% below normal levels. Parts of the River Thames are tracking at record lows, while other waterways have seen an increase in algae growth as water temperatures rise.
Farmers and experts are warning of a detrimental impact on food production. “The drought could have a direct knock-on effect on food supplies,” said Pauline Scheelbeek, associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“Repeated disruption to vegetable production could make healthy food less affordable for households and have lasting effects on public health,” Scheelbeek added.
England has now experienced three droughts in the past five years, with 2026 joining 2022 and 2025.
But the country, famed for its gloomy skies and persistent rain, is also having to deal with very wet weather.
Last winter was England’s eighth wettest on record, with rainfall 42% higher than the long-term average for the season.
Then came a dramatic shift, when exceptional heat arrived. Last month was England’s hottest June on record, as it sweltered under a heat wave that would have been virtually impossible without climate change, scientists found.
On Wednesday, the Met Office confirmed a new England June daily temperature record of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) had been verified, higher than the 37.7 degrees Celsius (99.86 Fahrenheit) previously recorded.
Scientists say the swing between wet and dry extremes — often called “weather whiplash” — is becoming more frequent and intense. It’s “indicative of what we expect in a warming world,” said Jamie Hannaford, head of water resources and drought at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
It can also ramp up wildfire risk as the vegetation growth that surges during wet winters is then turned tinder-dry when the rain stops and the heat arrives.
As human-driven climate change fuels more frequent extreme weather, experts say more must be done by governments to protect people, communities and the environment from disaster.
“We need long-term planning for water resourcing in the UK,” said Chloe Brimicombe, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford. This means “investment in water infrastructure to maintain as much water as possible,” she added.
England is currently in the throes of its fourth heat wave of the year. And, as in other nations, the extreme weather is taking a deathly toll.
There were 2,877 heat-associated deaths in the UK this year during two notable periods of hot weather in May and June, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Thursday — almost double the number reported for the whole of 2025.
Meanwhile, a major incident has been declared on the Suffolk coast, in the country’s southeast, after a large wildfire broke out on Wednesday evening local time.
Dozens of firefighters have been deployed to tackle the blaze, which is less than five miles from Sizewell B nuclear power station.
There are few signs of relief, at least in the short term. “There is currently little sign of the widespread, sustained rainfall that would be needed to make a significant difference to the areas most affected by the dry weather,” said Will Lang, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist.
The-CNN-Wire
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