July was driest month in southern England since records began

A lone ice cream van is surrounded by parched grassland at Blackheath Common in London, 3 August 2026. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

July 2026 was the driest month in southern England since records began nearly 200 years ago, the Met Office has said.

England and Wales also provisionally recorded their driest July since records began in 1836. Wales had its joint warmest July on record for mean temperature, and England recorded its second warmest July.