San Francisco Frontiers - England, Wales had driest July on record: Met Office

The weather service said that, of of the two UK countries, England had recorded just 6.5 millimetres (0.25 of an inch) of rain, 10 percent of the usual average figure, while Wales had 9.3 mm, the Met Office said.

Little in the way of rain is forecast for the next week, it added.

In the southern part of England, July was the driest month ever recorded, dating back to 1836, with just 1.9 mm of rainfall, or three percent of the average figure, the Met Office said.

London and its suburbs are one of 19 English regions to have had no more than one millimetre of rainfall last month.

The last three months all saw below average monthly rainfall.

Helen Wakeham, chairperson of the National Drought Group, said: "We are seeing the effects on our farmers, our wildlife, and the amount available for public and business use."

Water companies in parts of England and Wales have imposed bans on using hose pipes for household tasks and watering plants.

The month of July was also the "sunniest month ever observed" in Britain, the Met Office said.

"July 2026 has been a truly remarkable month in the UK's climate record," said Met Office science manager Amy Doherty.

It saw a "combination of record-breaking dryness, exceptional warmth and unprecedented sunshine," she noted.

- Second-hottest -

For the United Kingdom overall this was the second hottest July ever.

Record-breaking heatwaves in May and June led to an estimated 2,877 excess deaths in England, the UK Health Security Agency said last week.

It has put in place an amber health warning for four regions, including London, warning of increased risk to those over 65 years old or with pre-existing health conditions.

Wales had its joint hottest July on record, with a mean temperature of 17.8C, a figure previously hit in 2006 and 1983.

"Harvest is finished and is only just the beginning of August," president of the National Farmers' Union Tom Bradshaw told Sky News on Tuesday.

"That's unthinkable compared to only a decade ago and it will be one of the earliest harvests on record," he said, adding yields were a third lower than normal.

N.Wilson--SFF