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UK prime minister convenes Cobra as drought grips 75% of England and heatwave intensifies

· Environment GBRFRAESP
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham convened an emergency Cobra meeting on Wednesday as drought now covers 75 per cent of England, with temperatures forecast to reach 38C this week and July confirmed as the driest in England and Wales since 1836.

Water companies are tightening restrictions after hosepipe bans were already imposed by nine utilities carrying fines up to £1,000. Severn Trent, with West Midlands reservoirs at roughly 65 per cent capacity, urged year-round conservation to avert further curbs. Southern Water has applied for drought orders to draw more from the River Test, warning that 165,000 Hampshire residents could face supply restrictions within six weeks if rain does not arrive. Anglian Water and Bournemouth Water have also appealed for reduced usage.

Across the Channel, French health authorities recorded at least 5,700 excess deaths in July and 220,000 people were evacuated from wildfires in south-west France, while Spanish crews battled major blazes in Valencia.

Story development

  1. Wessex Water imposes first hosepipe ban in 50 years as rain fails to ease drought across northern Europe
  2. Wessex Water imposes first hosepipe ban in 50 years as heatwave persists
  3. UK braces for rain and cooler temperatures after record heatwave and wildfires
  4. Stourbridge wildfire destroys 19 homes as 11 major incidents declared across UK
  5. UK sends emergency wildfire warning to millions and bans disposable barbecues
  6. Wildfires force airport closure and major incidents as UK blazes match annual record
  7. UK records hottest day of 2026 as 38.1C in London caps record-breaking heatwave
  8. UK prime minister convenes Cobra as drought grips 75% of England and heatwave intensifies
  9. UK upgrades heat alerts to amber as drought expands to 71% of England
  10. UK braces for fifth heatwave as drought deepens and death toll mounts

Covered by 5 outlets across 3 countries

Sources

The reporting this story is built on

bbc.co.uk GBR Severn Trent plea about sprinklers and paddling pools in droughttv2.no NOR 27 millioner briter må spare på vannet: – Det er snudd på hodetinews.co.uk GBR The UK towns at risk of running out of water within six weeks
Additional coverage

Others reporting the same event

theguardian.com GBR Making fun of the English is an Australian national pastime but the drought in Britain isn’t funny at all | First Dog on the Moon

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