A drought is officially declared in eight areas of southern, central and eastern England - including Devon and Cornwall, Kent, London and the East Midlands
It means water companies can begin announcing stricter measures to conserve supplies
Yorkshire Water has announced its first hosepipe ban in 27 years and joins South East, Southern and Welsh Water in enforcing restrictions
A four-day extreme heat amber warning is in place for parts of England and Wales, with temperatures forecast to hit 37C (99F)
The Met Office is also warning there is an "exceptional" risk of fires spreading over the weekend, with some supermarkets removing disposable barbecues from shelves
Meanwhile in France, firefighters continue to fight a huge wildfire in the south-west, while low water levels on the Rhine river in Germany are disrupting shipping
It's day two of the Met Office's amber extreme heat warning - watch today's weather in 60 seconds with BBC Weather's Louise Lear.
Latest UK weather forecast: Extreme heat to continue through weekend
Georgina Rannard
BBC News science reporter
Image source, PA MediaThe obvious fix for parched land and low water reserves is rain.
But even a normal amount of rain won’t solve this problem quickly, especially in the south of England.
So while the weather is expected to change next week, it will probably just be a few showers which is far from enough.
And the Met Office is forecasting warm weather for the next three months.
This year, and this summer in particular, has been exceptionally dry and that has taken its toll on the reservoirs and groundwater that supplies most of our water.
Scientists are saying we need above-average levels of rain in September and October to replenish stocks in affected areas.
The weather in the coming autumn and winter period will be crucial, says Jamie Hannaford, hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
Across England and Wales, a four-day heatwave is impacting everyday life, with some regions expecting to experience temperatures as high as 35C.
Alongside high temperatures, persistent dry weather has led to many dried up lakes and parched grass.
Image source, PA MediaOne of Derbyshire's reservoirs - Woodhead Reservoir - is experiencing significantly low water levels
Image source, PA MediaHere is a dried up lake in Wanstead Park, north-east London
Image source, ShutterstockPeople walk on parched grass in Greenwich Park, east London
James Gregory
BBC News
Image source, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue ServiceWildfires are becoming more frequent across the UK
The challenges firefighters in the UK face when confronted with large-scale wildfires are enormous.
Tinder-dry conditions and the heatwave that many of us across the country are experiencing mean the risk of wildfires is very high.
Kent, one of the areas where the Met Office has raised the fire severity index to exceptional for Saturday and Sunday, has already seen a nearly tenfold increase in the number of vegetation fires between July 2021 and July 2022 (44 to 400).
But what makes wildfires especially hard to tackle?
"It changes on a minute-by-minute basis," says Richard Hawley, wildfire officer at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
"One minute they are knee-high, the next they are above your head. It is one of the most arduous fires our crews face."
Wildfires spread rapidly - left unchecked, they can rage for miles and miles across the countryside. If the wind changes direction, so could the fire.
Image source, PA MediaWe're expecting to hear from the government on whether or not a drought has been declared in parts of England. Here are the latest developments:
Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist
Image source, PA MediaThe parched grass at the cricket green in Odiham, Hampshire, reflects the severe lack of rain in the village
For some parts of England it hasn’t rained since the end of June… That’s a total of 42 days in Odiham, Hampshire, for example.
That number will increase to at least 45 days by the end of the weekend.
While this July has been the driest on record for southern England, the reason for the current drought situation is also down to the rainfall we’ve had in previous months.
For the UK as a whole, nine of the last 12 months have been drier than average.
Looking for tips on how to save water at home? We’ve got you covered.
Image source, .And this chart helps to give a better understanding of where we use the most water:
Image source, .
Image source, PA MediaDroughts can have a devastating impact both on the environment and on individuals, and effects include:
Farmers will be watching the situation closely, and berry farmers have already reported losing some of their crop.
Vegetables such as potatoes - which are due to be harvested next month - are at particular risk due to their high-water content.
The effects could be felt into next year, as farmers are delaying planting crops such as rapeseed because the soil is too dry.
The recent record-breaking temperatures and very dry conditions led to multiple fires, with significant damage to homes and grasslands.
The Environment Agency oversees the management of the UK's aquatic life, and will move fish to other rivers should water levels drop too low - as was done in Yorkshire in July., external
At last night’s hustings, Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss made a comment about utilities regulators, including for water, becoming “less effective at doing the job” and not encouraging growth or competition.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, who is backing Truss to win the leadership contest, says Truss would like to “streamline” the number of regulators generally.
"We need to try to improve the investment, but of course other things that we can do to do that is to remove some of the unnecessary regulation that we’ve inherited from the European Union," she tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She adds that private investment is currently prevented from "really unlocking future infrastructure improvements".
"Liz wants to accelerate deregulation in order to make sure we get further investments right across the country," she says.
Yes, Britain has been slowly getting warmer since the 19th Century.
In the past three decades, the UK has become 0.9C warmer. The 10 hottest years since 1884 have all happened since 2002. And none of the coldest years has been recorded this century.
The summer of 1976 is often used in the UK as a standard to compare hot and dry weather against.
It featured 18 consecutive days with temperatures somewhere topping 30C. But the warmest day of 1976 only ranks 13th in the list of the hottest UK days on record.
The temperature then was 35.9C - compared with the 40.3C recorded in Lincolnshire last month.
You can read more comparisons with 1976 here.
Image source, .
Image source, PA MediaA parched golf course in Ashford, Kent
Millions of people in Sussex and Kent are now banned from using their hosepipes, after restrictions have been introduced by South East Water.
The company has said it had "no choice" but issue the ban, which will affect around 1.4 million customers, after England had the driest start to a year since 1976.
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are already under a hosepipe ban, while Thames Water is also set to follow suit and announce similar measures.
South East Water is asking people to observe the ban on using a hosepipe to water plants, wash the car and fill paddling pools.
It also applies to anything which serves the same purpose as a hosepipe, such as sprinklers and irrigation systems or pressure washers.
Chief executive David Hinton said the company was introducing the "temporary restrictions" to "make sure we have enough water for our customers' essential use".
He also said it was particularly to ensure they can supply "vulnerable customers" and to protect the local environment.
Quote MessageBy taking this action now, we will be able to reduce the amount of water we take from already stressed local water sources."
Rule breakers could be hit with a £1,000 fine.
The firm 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.
Read more here.
Image source, PA MediaCoventry City players take a water break during Wednesday's Carabao Cup match against Bristol City
Drinks breaks will be implemented during Premier League football fixtures this weekend with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 37C (99F).
The pauses in play were first introduced by the Football Association when matches were played during the summer after a delay due to the Covid pandemic.
A break was called in last Sunday's Premier League match between West Ham and Manchester City while evening games in the Carabao Cup first round earlier this week also featured water breaks.
Read more here.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Thruscross reservoir in North Yorkshire pictured in late July
As we reported earlier, Yorkshire Water has announced its first hosepipe ban in 27 years in the wake of low rainfall and high temperatures.
The company says , externalYorkshire had experienced a dry March, April, May, June and July, with 34% less rain than the long term average.
It said reservoir levels had fallen below 50% for the first time since the drought of 1995 and it would take months of rain for them to recover.
Anyone breaking the temporary ban, which starts on 26 August, faces a fine of up to £1,000.
It comes in the midst of the Met Office's amber extreme heat warning covering much of England.
Read more here.
Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist
The highest temperature on Thursday was 34.2C in West Sussex, but as the heatwave intensifies today, we expect it to be slightly hotter across many areas, with 35C possible in parts of south-east England.
Once again, there will be lots of sunshine, with the exception of northern Scotland and some North Sea coastal areas.
Image source, Getty Images / WildrozeWith swathes of the UK's farmland looking parched, we've been asking what can farmers do when their fields are dry?
Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union, tells us these are "extraordinary times" for farmers, affecting animal feed and crops.
She said hay usually stored for the winter has been used to feed animals throughout July and will continue this month.
"On my farm in south Wiltshire I've never actually known conditions like it.
"We'll probably get rainfall in September and a bit of grass growth then, but it's different grass growth.
"Everything is so burnt off, there is literally nothing there to eat."
She said yields of crops such as potatoes, carrots and lettuces would "certainly" fall.
Georgina Rannard
BBC News science reporter
Drought is declared area by area, rather than for the country as a whole. Water companies and the government have plans for what to do depending on which company provides water in the region and where it comes from. Some things that water companies might do if drought is declared include:
Our parks and fields are all hankering for a bit of rain - but will they be ready to absorb it once it comes?
The University of Reading has shared a video that illustrates how long it takes water to soak into dry soil, illustrating why heavy rainfall on parched ground can be dangerous and might lead to flash floods.
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Anyone who remembers the summer of '76 might be worrying the taps could run dry.
But we won't be seeing the harsher measures brought in during this heatwave, correspondent Dan Johnson tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"If you're thinking it's 1976 all over again, we're being told not to expect that sort of thing," he says.
"That's when water really did run short.
"They've got the infrastructure in place now apparently to shift water around. It just means putting more of that into action to make sure that the water gets to the homes that need it.
"But we're being told that the taps shouldn't run dry, that there shouldn't be a need for standpipes and that things aren't as bad as they were in 1976 - that was a dry summer on top of a dry winter.
"Conditions haven't been that bad."
Standpipes were used during the long hot summer of 1976
Catherine Evans
BBC News
Image source, ReutersWhat are the rules of a hosepipe ban?
But you can use other water sources, like using your mains water supply but with buckets or watering cans instead of hosepipes, or using stored rainwater from a water butt.
What’s the penalty during a ban?
Anyone found not following the rules could be prosecuted in a criminal court and fined up to £1,000, under section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991.
What’s allowed during a ban?
When was the last hosepipe ban in the UK?
The last official hosepipe ban in the UK was in 2018. Before that, there was one in 2012.
How long will a ban last?
A hosepipe ban will end when there’s enough rainfall to fill affected reservoirs.
Why are hosepipes so bad?
Using a hosepipe to water the garden uses 1,000 litres of water an hour.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Thruscross reservoir in North Yorkshire pictured in late July
Yorkshire Water has announced its first hosepipe ban in 27 years in the wake of low rainfall and high temperatures.
It said reservoir levels had fallen below 50% for the first time since the drought of 1995 and it would take months of rain for them to recover.
Anyone breaking the temporary ban, which starts on 26 August, faces a fine of up to £1,000.
It comes in the midst of the Met Office's amber extreme heat warning covering much of England.
Read more here.