England and Wales have had their driest July in records dating back to 1836, provisional statistics from the Met Office show.
And southern England has experienced its driest month ever recorded, as more records tumble amid a summer of extreme weather that has seen multiple heatwaves and the whole of Wales and half of England plunged into drought.
Farming leaders have warned it is “one of the most severe droughts many farmers and growers have lived through”, with poor yields, struggles to access water for fruit and vegetables and livestock keepers using winter feed for their animals.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has demanded urgent action to secure water supplies for homegrown food production.
In July, 19 counties across England recorded effectively no rainfall – 1mm or less – across the whole of the month, the Met Office figures show.
England as a whole had just a 10th of the average rainfall for the month, while Wales saw just 9% of the average, with both countries seeing less than half of the rainfall in the previous record dry July in 1911.
Southern England also had its hottest July on record, while it was the joint hottest July on record for Wales, and the UK and England had their second hottest July, the provisional figures show.
And in an exceptionally sunny month, the UK, England and Wales have all recorded their sunniest Julys on record – and for England and Wales it was the sunniest calendar month ever observed, the Met Office said.
The exceptional sunshine helped solar power to a new monthly record, with the renewable technology providing 14.4% of all electricity over the month – and delivered a peak of 44% of generation for a period on the morning of Sunday July 12.
The latest figures were published as a swathe of England is under another amber heat health alert with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 35C on Monday.
The UK is facing the impacts of increasingly extreme weather such as droughts and heatwaves fuelled by climate change, which is caused mostly by burning fossil fuels in power plants, vehicles, home heating and industry, as well as from planet-warming emissions from agriculture and clearing forests.
The summer of extreme weather has seen two record-breaking heatwaves, in May and June, that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths, and two more heatwaves in July which has fuelled drought and wildfires.
A large blaze which began tearing through Suffolk heathland on Wednesday was ongoing on Monday afternoon, the National Trust said, but was being considered “stable”.
Firefighters remained at the scene in Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, with a number of hotspots on site.
The National Trust urged people to avoid the area and not access footpaths onto the heath.
A spokesperson said: “The scale of this fire, fuelled by the extreme weather conditions, including the driest July on record, proved extremely challenging to manage.
“The devastation caused by this fire has been even more disheartening as Dunwich Heath had been recovering well after the 2022 drought, with heather returning and specialist wildlife increasing.”
The RSPB said its nearby Minsmere reserve remained closed and said mature heather damaged in the fire “could take many years to recover”.
“Wildlife such as Dartford warblers, woodlarks, nightjars, adders and silver-studded blue butterflies have all been impacted by the blaze and loss of habitat,” a spokesperson for the conservation charity said.
Separately, firefighters tackling a weeks-long wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park said on Monday that smoke from the blaze was travelling in the direction of Aviemore.
People in the area who could smell smoke were advised to close windows and doors.
The harvest has come early and farmers are warning of poor crop yields while livestock are already being fed winter feed, some 23 million customers are under hosepipe bans, and rivers and the natural environment are struggling with low water levels.
In the latest heat spike, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has amber heat health alerts in place for the East Midlands, East of England, South East and London until Wednesday morning.
There are also yellow heat health alerts for the North West, South West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and The Humber, as the agency warns the latest high temperatures could put extra pressure on the NHS, with more vulnerable people likely to require medical treatment.
Temperatures are expected to gradually decrease in the second half of the week, and there is some more unsettled weather forecast for parts of the UK including a yellow warning for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland.
But the South East will continue to see little in the way of desperately needed rain, the Met Office has warned.
Another hot day expected today 🌡️
But as we head through the week, temperatures will start to drop, with a lot of places actually dipping below the seasonal average pic.twitter.com/1WTKeMlJQh
— Met Office (@metoffice) August 3, 2026
Met Office science manager Dr Amy Doherty described July as a “truly remarkable month” in the UK’s climate record.
“The combination of record-breaking dryness, exceptional warmth and unprecedented sunshine has delivered one of the most notable summer months in our historical records,” she said.
Helen Wakeham, chairwoman of the National Drought Group and director of water at the Environment Agency, said: “Dry weather depletes our water, while the hot conditions mean we use more of it.
“This is a difficult combination, and we are seeing the effects on our farmers, our wildlife, and the amount available for public and business use.
“All sectors are taking action, and we are grateful to the public for following the restrictions, where in place, to make sure there is enough water for everyone this summer.
“We want everyone to stay safe and hydrated during the hot weather but every drop we can save is a drop more for nature and agriculture.”
In London, park chiefs are urging people to enjoy the capital’s open spaces safely, by keep out of ponds, lakes and reservoirs with no lifeguards, never light barbecues or open fires, dispose of cigarettes safely, carry water and stay in the shade in the heat of the day.
The City of London Corporation, The Royal Parks, The National Trust, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and Parks for London, between them manage popular green spaces in the capital including Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and Hyde Park.
Farmers are warning of the hit to British agriculture from the ongoing dry conditions, saying many of the countries the UK imports food from in Europe are also being hit by weather extremes and wildfires.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “This is one of the most severe droughts many farmers and growers have lived through.
“Harvest yields are looking poor, farmers are struggling to access water to irrigate fruit and vegetables, and livestock farmers are having to use grass they cut this spring for their stores of winter feed for cattle as there’s very little grass growing now.
“If this summer teaches us anything, it is that we must prioritise food production”, he said, warning: “We can’t produce food without water.”
The NFU is calling for more flexible abstraction regimes so farmers can take and store water when it rains, and planning changes and financial support to make it easier to build on-farm reservoirs.
