England faces longest dry spell in over 30 years, drought fears rise

Parts of central and south-east England went 14 consecutive days without recorded rainfall between July 2 and July 15, the longest unbroken dry spell in those areas this century. In southern England, the Met Office said places logged 13 straight days above heatwave criteria, while Merryfield in Somerset reached 30.6C on Thursday and the UK endured 12 consecutive days at or above 30C, the longest such run since 2006.

The dry spell is landing on top of an already hot year. The Met Office said England and Wales had their warmest spring on record, and provisional figures showed May 2026 was the UK’s joint third warmest May on record for mean temperature. That combination of heat and missing rain matters because it dries out soils, slows crop growth and pushes river levels down before reservoir levels become visibly critical.

Officials have been watching the trend closely. The National Drought Group met after a dry spring and a recent heatwave, while the Environment Agency’s dry-weather and drought reporting for England in 2026 tracked conditions through late June. A GOV.UK drought briefing in late June showed the same concern: England was not yet in a full-blown emergency, but it was moving closer to the point where water companies and farmers have fewer options if the heat continues.

Restrictions are already reaching households. As the UK’s third heatwave of the year ended and temperatures cooled, a new hosepipe ban affecting 1.1 million people was announced. For many families, that means changing when they water gardens, wash cars or fill paddling pools. For farms, the longer-term impact is sharper, because repeated hot spells can leave topsoil dry enough to stress crops even after a brief shower.

The Met Office later said changeable conditions were expected, with showers spreading across the UK, though confidence fell further into the forecast period. That softer outlook offers some relief, but it does not erase the warning sign: a summer that has already delivered record heat for the season and a dry run long enough to test how England handles the first stage of drought, before the crisis shows up in taps, fields and rivers.