Drought has been declared in half of England after months of unusually dry conditions, as officials warn that persistently low rainfall is putting pressure on water supplies, rivers and the wider environment.The Environment Agency announced that seven areas are now officially in drought: East Anglia, Hertfordshire and north London, the Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex, including Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and South Gloucestershire.The announcement follows a series of hosepipe restrictions affecting more than 23 million people, including customers served by Thames Water and South East Water.Helen Wakeham, water director at the Environment Agency and chair of the national drought group, said the country is using water faster than it can naturally replenish it due to prolonged hot, dry conditions.“The second summer drought in a row is an exceptionally serious situation and will have long-term impacts on our environment, wildlife and economy,” he said.According to the Environment Agency, England received only seven per cent of average rainfall in July, with parts of southern England recording just one per cent of normal rainfall.The agency said it had stepped up its response to the drought by increasing environmental monitoring and tightening controls on the amount of water taken from rivers and groundwater sources.The latest announcement marks England’s third drought in five years, following previous droughts in 2022 and 2025.Many other areas remain in prolonged dry weather conditions, including Kent and East Sussex, Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and the rest of the Solent and South Downs.Currently, Yorkshire and North East England are the only parts of England that are under normalcy, although officials said the situation is being closely monitored.