Drought declared: Several parts of England affected

A drought has been officially declared by the Environment Agency, covering several parts of central, southern and eastern England.

The Environment Agency has moved a number of areas into drought status including Devon, Cornwall, Solent, South Downs, Kent, Hertfordshire, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, the East Midlands and parts of London. More are expected to be added later in August.

This means that for these areas, water rationing may take place, including banning sprinklers, cleaning buildings, windows and vehicles.

It comes as a result of the prolonged dry and hot weather, which is causing crops to fail. Crops cannot be irrigated because reservoirs are rapidly diminishing, with several across the country already at less than half-full.

Half of the potato crop is expected to fail as it cannot be irrigated, and even drought-tolerant crops such as maize have been suffering. Dairy production is also taking a hit due to lack of food for cows, with wildfires also placing large areas of land at risk too.

The four-day amber extreme heat warning, put in place by the Met Office, is set to continue throughout the weekend when temperatures will peak into the mid-thirties.