Key Facts

• The National Drought Group has declared that areas including East Anglia, the West Midlands, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and London, Wessex, Thames, Solent, and the South Downs are in "prolonged dry weather", the stage before drought.
• Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban for all its customers from Thursday, affecting 10.1 million people, and bringing the total number of people living under hosepipe bans to over 20 million by the end of the week.
• The Met Office states that drought tends to build up over time and can last from as little as a few weeks to several years, with factors such as lack of rainfall, high temperatures, and human activity contributing to drought conditions.
• River flows in England have decreased in recent weeks, with 87% of catchments now at "below normal to exceptionally low levels", and specific rivers such as the Rivers Avon, Cam, Derwent, Swale, Tone, Wye, and Yare are exceptionally low.
• England has received only 3% of its long-term average July rainfall, with the south and east of England seeing no rain at all, and areas such as Wisley in Surrey experiencing 33 consecutive dry days.