England and Wales are on course for their driest July on record, according to the Met Office. England has seen just 5.6mm of rainfall up to 30 July, equivalent to 8% of its long-term meteorological average for the month and less than half of the previous record of 13.4mm set in 1911.
Wales has recorded 7.9mm of rainfall, also 8% of its long-term average for the month and almost a third of the previous record of 22.6mm, also set in 1911. The UK as a whole is currently on course for its third driest July, and its driest nationally since 1868.
Why are drought and wildfire risks rising?
Dry conditions have worsened after an official drought was declared across more than half of England and parts of Wales. On Wednesday the Environment Agency declared a "flash drought" across more than half of England, where water is being used up much faster than nature can replenish it.
Wisley in Surrey has gone 44 consecutive days without recording any rainfall as of 30 July. Drought conditions had already been declared across North Wales and the Upper Severn river basin, according to Natural Resources Wales.
Scotland does not declare drought but monitors "water scarcity". Some parts of eastern Scotland are in the most extreme category of "significant scarcity", according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
The drought conditions have caused significant impacts, including low river flow and early harvests. More than 20 million people are already under hosepipe bans in a bid to conserve water.
The hot weather and lack of rainfall have created tinder-dry conditions, which have exacerbated the risk of wildfires spreading.
A major incident was declared in Suffolk on Wednesday as firefighters tackled a wildfire "the size of 200 football pitches".
In Scotland, a wildfire in the Cairngorms burned for two weeks, destroying 10 sq miles (25 sq km) of moorland.
Northern Ireland is not currently in drought.
Temperatures climbed to 35.5C in July, as several areas experienced their fourth heatwave of the year.
How severe has the heat been this summer?
The last week of June 2026 saw record-breaking temperatures across parts of the UK and Europe. While some people enjoyed the sunshine, the heat caused trains, schools and emergency services to buckle.
England is on track this year for the highest number of heat-related deaths since records began, according to estimates by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
In a preliminary assessment, the agency said there were an estimated 2,877 heat-related deaths during the May and June heatwaves, almost double the figure for the whole of last year.
The summer so far has also seen temperature records tumble.
There have now been seven days with temperatures over 35C, beating the previous record of five set in 1976 and equalled in 2020.
There have been 31 days with temperatures over 30C, not far off the record of 34 days set in 1995 and comfortably ahead of 1976, which had 24 days.
There is still plenty of time left this summer to equal or beat that mark.
You can read the latest monthly outlook from BBC Weather here.
Get in touch
Do you live in one of the affected regions? Do you have any questions about the drought?
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