More than Two-Thirds of England's Territory Hit by Drought

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Chamika Jayasri

JAKARTA - More than two-thirds of the UK is now officially experiencing drought after the country recorded the driest July since 1836.

The four areas designated as experiencing drought, Monday (10/8), are East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and South Downs.

The region joins about half of England and all of Wales, which are already affected by drought conditions.

The decision was made by the National Drought Working Group (National Drought Group), which consists of regulators, government officials, drinking water companies, and agricultural organizations.

"Together with the areas announced last week, most of the country (71.3 percent) is now experiencing sudden drought, which is developing very quickly due to a combination of very low rainfall and higher temperatures," according to the working group's statement.

Around 45 million people now live in parts of England affected by the drought, with more than 27 million of them under water restrictions, the report said.

"The drought conditions are getting worse and will continue until we get significant and sustained rainfall. We are aware that this hot and dry weather is really having a bad impact on the agricultural sector and will have long-term impacts on our environment," said Tony Grayling, chairman of the National Drought Working Group, in a statement.

Meanwhile, the British Minister for Water Affairs Emma Hardy, who attended the National Drought Working Group meeting on Monday (10/8), said her party was aware of the severity of the summer, especially for farmers who work hard and are on the front lines in the face of climate change, as well as the increasing frequency of floods and droughts.

"We are increasing our support, including by trying to make it easier for farmers to build more irrigation reservoirs at their locations. We are also making long-term changes in the water sector to reduce leaks and provide nine new reservoirs and water transfer schemes to ensure supply," said Hardy.

Health warnings related to heat have been upgraded across England ahead of a week of extreme heat, with the highest temperatures expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius in the south-east on Thursday (13/8).

In July, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recorded 2,877 deaths due to the heatwave in May and June. This figure is almost double the number of deaths in the summer of 2025 which was recorded at 1,504.

On Thursday (30/7), drought was declared in Wales due to worsening conditions due to high temperatures.

Drought also hit around half of the UK in July, after record low rainfall and long-running high temperatures.