England’s drought could last for a year, warns EA

The Environment Agency EA warns that the drought in England could last for a year and that wildfires could break out across the UK this weekend.

The Met Office has issued an amber heat warning across parts of England and Wales, as regions are braced for temperatures as high as 35 C.

The drought was officially declared in eight regions: Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and south London, Hertfordshire and north London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and east Midlands.

John Curtin, executive director for local operations at the EA, said it would take weeks worth of rain to replenish water sources after the driest summer in 50 years.

Three water companies, Welsh Water, Southern Water and South East Water, have imposed hosepipe bans while Yorkshire Water has announced a ban on 26 August and Thames Water is planning one in the coming weeks.

The risk of more wildfires is predicted to continue across the south this weekend, because of the dry weather.

The Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said that there would be a continuation of the very dry and hot conditions for the rest of the weekend.

We're looking at temperatures of up to 34 C or 35 C in the south, feeling slightly fresher in the north, but temperatures up there still well above what they should be for the time of year. He warned that the ground and vegetation has been dry for an extended period, and that it has been extremely dry. There is a significant risk of wildfires. Four fire engines have tackled a blaze in Derbyshire, while emergency services were called to put out fires in Dorset and east London.

The Met Office predicts heavy rainfall in most of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday, and there will be yellow warnings for thunderstorms.

The stormy weather is expected to move down to England and Wales on Monday.

The current hot weather will lead to a thundery breakdown from the west, which will spread south and east in the early part of next week. There are severe but isolated thunderstorms that are possible Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, according to Jason Kelly, Met Office meteorologist.

Some areas may have seen around 50 mm of rain fall in a three-hour period in the north, with some areas further south possibly seeing around 30 mm of rain in a three-hour period. Hail and frequent lightning are also possible as part of these downpours and represent an additional hazard. England had its driest July since 1935, with the month also going down in the UK's climate history, exceeding temperatures of 40 C on 19 July.