North Wales has become the first part of the United Kingdom to be officially declared in drought status this summer, following weeks of dry weather and a run of record-breaking heatwaves across the country. The declaration marks the point at which prolonged heat and a lack of rain have started to have a measurable impact on the land, and it is very likely that other regions will follow suit as similar conditions persist across much of Britain.
The scale of the dryness behind the decision is striking. Wales is on course to record its driest July in potentially nearly 190 years, although the month is not quite over yet. In parts of Wales and England, rainfall has amounted to only about 2 or 3 percent of what would normally be expected for this time of year, leaving rivers low and the ground parched after an extended spell without meaningful precipitation.
The dry conditions have been compounded by the heat. There have already been three major heatwaves this year, and each of them has effectively sucked moisture out of the land and out of the rivers. It is that combination of hot weather and the lack of rainfall that has driven the situation to the point where drought has now been formally declared in the affected regions.
One of the clearest consequences has been the effect on the landscape and the risk of fire. The drying out of vegetation has made wildfires more likely to spread and to burn much more intensely, and there have already been major fires in Wales as well as in England in recent weeks. The parched ground and tinder-dry plant cover leave large areas vulnerable whenever a blaze takes hold.
Agriculture is feeling the strain as well. Farmers around the country are worried about having to harvest their crops early, and in some cases about harvesting them simply in order to feed their livestock, because there is little left for the animals to graze on. Fields that would ordinarily be green have turned yellow and brown as they respond to the drought, underlining how quickly the dry weather has reshaped the countryside.
For now, these are the first regions to have tipped into drought in the UK this summer, but they are unlikely to be the last. Regulators are keeping a very close eye on other parts of the country, particularly in eastern and southern England, where similar patterns of heat and low rainfall could soon push more areas into the same category if the weather does not change.