Millions of people face hosepipe bans as low-water levels and tinder-dry conditions continue across the UK.
An official drought has been declared in parts of south-west England, parts of southern and central England, and the East of England.
The move is expected to trigger stricter controls on water use, after Yorkshire Water earlier became the fifth water company to announce a ban.
The Environment Agency said essential water supplies were safe.
John Curtin, director of operations, said the drought would go on for "a long time" and warned of possible restrictions on crop growing and further hosepipe bans.
It comes as the prolonged dry weather - combined with the current heatwave and July's record-breaking temperatures - have depleted rivers, reservoirs and aquifers.
Large swathes of England are bone-dry, with scenes of parched earth and grass turned yellow.
The conditions have prompted the Environment Agency to move eight of its 14 areas into drought status, including:
- Devon and Cornwall
- Solent and South Downs
- Kent and South London
- Herts and North London
- East Anglia
- Thames
- Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire
- East Midlands
Yorkshire and the West Midlands are also expected to move into a drought later in August.
The decision to declare a drought was taken after a meeting of the National Drought Group - made up of government and agency officials, water firms and groups including the National Farmers' Union.
Announcing a drought means government and water companies will launch plans to deal with it, with measures including hosepipe bans and taking more water than usual from rivers.
Members of the public and businesses in drought-affected areas are also being urged to use water wisely following the driest start to the year since 1976.
Elsewhere, Wales Drought Liaison group is also looking at the effect of the dry weather.
Four water companies - Welsh Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, and South East Water - have all announced hosepipe bans, while Yorkshire Water said on Friday that a ban would start on 26 August.
The firm, which has more than five million customers, says parts of the region have seen the lowest rainfall since records began more than 130 years ago.
It also said rivers and reservoirs in the region were running at 20% lower than expected for the time of year.
Water firms have been criticised over leaks, with about three billion litres of water lost each day in the UK.
This accounts for between 20% and 24% of the total water supply.
Thames Water is also set to follow suit with its own restrictions in the coming weeks. Earlier the firm's strategy and external affairs director, Cathryn Ross, told the BBC a ban could be announced immediately if a drought was declared.
South East Water, whose ban came into force on Friday, is now asking people to observe restrictions on using hosepipes to water plants, wash the car and fill paddling pools - with rule-breakers facing fines of up to £1,000.
The company said its underground water aquifers were below average for the time of year across Kent and Sussex and its raw water reservoirs were also at a lower level.
Dominic Gardener, a farmer in West Sussex, told the BBC the dry weather was posing huge challenges for farmers.
"Everything is starting to struggle a bit - our grass is not growing at all - and livestock, we're having to feed them extra food," he said, adding crop yields had also been reduced by the dryness.
A four-day amber warning for extreme heat from the Met Office is in place for many parts of England and Wales until Sunday.
And its fire severity index - which assesses how severe a blaze could become - is currently "very high" for most of England and Wales.
The situation facing firefighters across the UK has been described as "unprecedented", with increasing numbers of wildfires.
UK temperatures have been rising day-on-day through the week - with a peak of 35C expected on Friday and possibly 36C over the weekend.
Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said there would be "increasingly warm nights" with temperatures not expected to drop below the low 20s in some places in the south.
Temperatures are forecast to be lower early next week, however, and the Met Office has issued yellow thunderstorm warnings for Monday covering most of England, Wales and Scotland.
The situation in the UK is being mirrored across Europe. Much of the continent is baking in record heat, exposing riverbeds and triggering restrictions on water use in many areas.
AFPHeatwaves are becoming more likely and more extreme because of human-induced climate change.
Research institute UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) said it would require "exceptional" rainfall over the next one to three months to bring river, reservoir and groundwater levels back up to normal.
It said analysis showed exceptionally low levels would probably continue until October in southern England and Wales.
But scientists have warned bouts of heavy rain after a prolonged period of hot weather can cause flash flooding.
Robert Thompson, a professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading, told BBC News "the ground has effectively become like urban concrete" and will not absorb water quickly enough to cope with longer showers.
A drought has also hit Germany's Rhine River, where the water is already too low to allow some larger vessels through.
CẬP NHẬT TRỰC TIẾP: Hạn hán được tuyên bố
Sẽ có lệnh cấm sử dụng ống mềm trong khu vực của tôi?
Bốn công ty cấp nước - Welsh Water, Southern Water, Thames Water và South East Water - đều đã công bố lệnh cấm sử dụng vòi rồng, trong khi Yorkshire Water hôm thứ Sáu cho biết lệnh cấm sẽ bắt đầu từ ngày 26/8.
Nguồn bài viết Du học Đồng Thịnh | (+84) 96 993.7773 | (+84) 96 1660.266 | (+44) 020 753 800 87 | info@dongthinh.co.uk
Đăng nhận xét