Massive swathes of UK ‘moving into drought status’ as heatwave misery goes on

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Parts of the South West, parts of southern and central England, and the East of England are to be moved into drought status, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.

Terrifying new satellite images were shared on Thursday showing Britain from above, slowly turning into a desert-like landscape amid the ongoing heatwave.

The declaration by DEFRA of moving parts of England into drought status comes a day after the Met Office issued an amber "extreme heat" warning, in place until Sunday (August 14).

READ MORE: UK summer branded 'scary' by Met Office boss as we must brace for fires 36C heatwave

It could lead to more measures such as hosepipe bans, however, the Environment Agency has reassured the public that essential water supplies are safe.

The Environment Secretary George Eustice and Environment Minister Steve Double met with the chief executives of water companies on Wednesday, to discuss the ongoing response to the prolonged dry weather.

The conditions, which have almost completely deprived some areas of rainfall all summer, have prompted the National Drought Group to move parts of the South West, parts of southern and central England, and the East of England into official drought status.

Ministers heard from chief executives about how their companies are taking necessary steps to safeguard public water supplies and mitigate the effects of this exceptionally dry period.

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Mr Double has since said in a statement: "We are currently experiencing a second heatwave after what was the driest July on record for parts of the country.

"Action is already being taken by the Government and other partners including the Environment Agency to manage the impacts."

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He added: "All water companies have reassured us that essential supplies are still safe.

"We are better prepared than ever before for periods of dry weather, but we will continue to closely monitor the situation, including impacts on farmers and the environment, and take further action as needed."

Mark Hardingham, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said: "While we are likely to see more wildfires due to the current conditions, it is impossible to say whether this will be more than when the country experienced 40-degree temperatures.

"The bigger risk at the moment is a combination of temperature and wind speed, which will contribute to fire spread and makes incidents harder to manage and extinguish."

However, he added brigades were "well prepared and have plans in place" to respond.

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