This month isn’t over yet, but it has so far been England’s driest July since 1911 and the second driest since records began in 1836, weather experts say.
Just 15.8 mm (0.6 in) of rain fell on average until July 26, according to the Met Office.
The agency says that’s just 24% of the amount it would expect in an average July.
Image: 2022 monthly rainfall in England compared to average. Image: Met Office
The figures also show England has had its driest eight-month period from November 2021 to June 2022 since 1976, when the country struggled with a severe drought.
Image: (L) Map of average rainfall between November 2021 and June 2022. (R) Map of average rainfall between November 1975 and June 1976.
During this period, only 421 mm (16.6 in) of rain fell in England, less than three-quarters (74%) of the 1991–2020 average of 568 mm (22.4 in).
It comes as water chiefs brace for drought with Environment Agency (EA) officials transferring water to low-flow rivers, rescuing fish and reoxygenating the water, while water companies water are implementing the first stages of their drought plans.
And the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News that drought was now “highly likely” for most of southern England and Wales.
The Met Office said that by this stage of the month, the country would have expected more than three-quarters of the month’s rain to have already fallen in an average July.
Looking at the UK picture as a whole, the situation is slightly better, but this July so far remains the driest since 1984 and the eighth driest since 1836.
An average of 37.7mm (1.5in) of rain has fallen in the UK this month to July 26, the Met Office says.
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1:43 How a drought can affect you
There’s still time for things to change slightly for the rest of the month.
But weather experts have warned that there is little significant rain forecast for southern and eastern England, so there is little chance of much improvement in the next week or two.
Scotland has had closer to average rainfall in the north and west, but there have been drier conditions in the south and east of Scotland.
Overall, Scotland had 71% of the average rainfall for the month, Wales had 39% and Northern Ireland 43%.
The most extreme dry conditions are found in East Anglia and south-east England.
Image: Staines Reservoir in Middlesex during the severe drought of 1976
There have also been above average temperatures for much of this month, including heatwaves around July 10-13 and from July 16, with exceptionally hot July 18-19, when temperatures rose above 40ºC for the first time.
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2:31 Why is the UK facing a drought?
“Increasing trend towards hotter, drier UK summers”
Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: “The Met Office’s climate change projections show an increasing trend towards hotter and drier summers in the UK, with the driest regions expected to to the south and east.
“While summer temperature trends and heat waves are very evident in the climate records of recent decades, the high variability of our rainfall means it is too early to be able to detect the rainfall pattern of summer”.
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