England and Wales have suffered their driest July on record, the Met Office confirmed on Tuesday, as new thunderstorm warnings for Northern Ireland and amber heat health alerts across much of England underline that the UK's parched conditions are set to continue.
Nineteen counties in England recorded what the Met Office classifies as 'effectively no rainfall', meaning 1mm or less during the entire month. Southern England had its driest month ever recorded, while Wales and roughly half of England have officially been plunged into drought. Hosepipe bans now affect more than 20 million people in England and Wales, with no sign of them being lifted soon.
