More than half of the UK is declared in a state of drought

If France is particularly affected by the lack of water, it is not the only one. The state of drought was declared on more than half of the United Kingdom, according to the British government on Friday August 12.

The British Environment Agency has placed eight of the 14 zones dividing the country in a state of drought, mainly in the south and east of the country. Two additional areas could also go into drought later in August, according to the Guardian (in English).

This is the second level on the alert scale, which has four. This change allows additional water restriction measures to be put in place, as several companies have already banned the watering of gardens. “Essential water supplies are safe” , said the Ministry and the Environment Agency in a press release.

The UK is experiencing an unprecedented drought: July was the driest on record in some areas, and the first half of the year was the driest since 1976. The situation is such that the source of the Thames is dry and the river that crosses London does not begin to flow until about eight kilometers further downstream, unheard of.

The state of drought, declared for the first time since 2018, comes in the midst of a new heat wave in the United Kingdom. An orange “extreme heat” alert has been in effect since Thursday and runs through Friday across most of southern England and part of Wales, according to UK forecaster Met Office. In July, the country issued the first red alert for “extreme heat” in its history, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees.