Drought declared in half of England

An assignment for Helsingin Sanomat to illustrate that half of England has officially been declared in drought, with the Environment Agency warning that more regions are likely to be added in the coming weeks.

A large swathe of central, eastern and southern England is now affected after a prolonged period of exceptionally low rainfall, combined with sustained high temperatures, pushed conditions into drought.

The areas currently classified as being in drought are the West Midlands, East Anglia, London, Hertfordshire, the Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall and Wiltshire.

The situation is expected to worsen as forecasters predict a record-breaking fifth heatwave of the year next week, with temperatures potentially reaching 35°C.