Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought after conditions worsened following a record dry July and very low rainfall at the start of August, the National Drought Group has warned.
The East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and the South Downs moved into drought status on 10 August. Together with areas announced the previous week, 71.3% of England is now experiencing what officials described as a flash drought.
The Government said the situation means 45 million people are in a drought area, while more than 27 million people are living under restrictions on water use. The North East and Yorkshire have moved to prolonged dry weather, the stage before drought, with no area now classed as being in normal status.
The changes follow the driest July in 190 years and rainfall this month so far amounting to just 5% of expected levels. Officials also warned of more dry weather and another heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-30s in some places.
The National Drought Group said all regions of the country are under pressure on water resources, with increasing impacts on agriculture, public supplies, navigation and the environment. Its members are carrying out heightened incident response, additional monitoring, more leakage reduction work and increased public communication.
Environment Agency strategic drought lead Tony Grayling said drought conditions would continue to worsen until there was significant and sustained rainfall. Water Minister Emma Hardy said water companies were expected to take every available step to minimise leakage and support customers in using water wisely.