A DROUGHT has been officially declared across large regions of England by a group of experts. 

Parts of south-west, southern, eastern and central England have all been moved to official drought status following the driest first half of the year since 1976.

The decision was reached following a meeting by the National Drought Group — made up of civil servants, the Environment Agency, water companies and other groups including the National Farmers’ Union — on Friday morning. 

The change could lead to more measures such as hosepipe bans, however, the Environment Agency (EA) has insisted that essential water supplies are safe. 

But people in drought-affected areas are being urged to use water wisely, the agency said. 

It comes after a period of prolonged dry weather that has seen rainfall totals for August drop as low as 0 per cent in some areas of the country compared to the long-term average. 

River flow data from the EA also revealed almost 90 per cent of measuring sites were below normal readings, with 29 per cent classed as “exceptionally low.” 

Heavy showers are expected to fall next week, but the EA warned on Friday that it would take “weeks of rain” to stop the drought affecting large swathes of England. 

On Friday, Yorkshire Water became the fifth company in England and Wales to announce a hosepipe ban. 

The firm’s director of water Neil Dewis said that the prolonged dry conditions, which have seen part of Yorkshire hit by the lowest levels of rainfall since records began 130-years ago, left the firm with no other choice but to impose restrictions. 

The ban will come into effect from August 26, and comes after Welsh Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and South East Water also imposed hosepipe bans. 

Experts have blamed the drought conditions on climate change. 

The UK Health Security Agency’s chief scientific adviser transition leader Professor Isabel Oliver warned that rising temperatures could pose a risk to health by increasing the risk of emerging infections. 

“These changes are associated with an increasing risk of new and emerging infectious diseases – so, diseases that we might not have seen before, because of our changing environment, we are at greater risk of experiencing,” she told Sky News yesterday. 

“It’s really important that we continue to work to make sure that we prevent and mitigate those threats to health.”