30 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Photoholgic on Unsplash The Environment Agency has declared drought across seven regions of England, covering just over half the country, following what is set to be the driest July on record. The declaration moves East Anglia, Hertfordshire and North London, Thames, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands and […]
30 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Md. Hasanuzzaman Himel As drought spreads across half of England, the National Farmers’ Union has called for changes to abstraction rules and planning to protect food production. Low river flows have driven 1,506 restrictions on abstraction licences, and high irrigation demand is rapidly depleting farm reservoirs, leaving the union warning that growers […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: redcharlie Europe’s current drought is being shaped by a compound of rainfall deficits and a much warmer, thirstier atmosphere, according to a rapid attribution study published today by World Weather Attribution (WWA). Analysing conditions from January to June 2026 across a western European domain and an eastern one, scientists from 13 countries found that […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Galina Kondratenko Thames Water’s Temporary Use Ban came into force at 00:01 on Thursday 23 July, taking the number of people affected by hosepipe restrictions across England and Wales to about 23 million, according to the Guardian. The ban applies across Thames Water’s entire drinking water supply area, covering roughly 10 million customers […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Oleksandr Sushko The heat and rainfall deficit affecting the UK extends well across the North Sea, with Dutch authorities warning of a looming water shortage and the Rhine falling to levels that threaten to halt freight. The National Water Distribution Coordination Committee scaled the Netherlands up to level 1, an impending water shortage, on […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Seiya Maeda Most people in England support hosepipe bans when water levels fall, but a substantial minority think it unfair to be asked to cut back before water companies have taken visible steps of their own. The finding comes from research by Ipsos for the Environment Agency, published on 15 July, based on a […]
01 Jul 2026
Photo description: Someone’s torso wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, spraying a hose. Photo by Delia Giandeini on Unsplash The scale of the challenge A major new public engagement initiative, Let’s Save Water, has launched with backing from leading scientists, environmental bodies, and water industry figures, as new research reveals just one in 10 (11%) adults in England […]
25 Jun 2026
Image description: Dry, cracked earth. Photo by Mike Erskine on Unsplash The European Commission has used World Desertification and Drought Day to step up its push on water and drought resilience, framing both as central to the bloc’s economic security and food supply. In a statement marking the day on 17 June, the Commission […]
