Cooler weather and some rain are expected for parts of the United Kingdom from Thursday into the weekend as a cold front moves across the country. However, these conditions are unlikely to alleviate the drought gripping more than half of England and parts of Wales.
The recent heatwave saw temperatures reach a high of 35.2C (95.4F) at Writtle in Essex on Wednesday, marking the hottest day in over two weeks. This temperature matched the high recorded on July 10 in Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire. While hot, these temperatures did not reach the highs of last month, when a provisional UK June temperature record of 38.0C (100.4F) was set in Lingwood, Norfolk, on June 26.
Drought was officially declared across much of central, eastern, and southern England on Wednesday by the Environment Agency (EA). This declaration signals the potential for further restrictions on water use. The EA has noted impacts such as low river flows, early harvests, and a high risk of wildfires. More than 20 million people are already subject to hosepipe bans.
North Wales and the Upper Severn river basin also entered drought conditions last week, according to Natural Resources Wales. While Scotland does not officially declare drought, it monitors "water scarcity." Some eastern areas of Scotland are experiencing "significant scarcity," the most extreme category monitored by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Northern Ireland is not currently in a drought state.
The arrival of cooler conditions offers some respite from the peak temperatures, but the lingering dry spell means that significant rainfall is needed to address the ongoing drought in the most affected regions.