Drought conditions may last into September across large parts of the UK, with no substantial rainfall forecast in southern parts of the country during August.
Some areas could experience a sixth heatwave next week. Although weather experts say this month will not be as dry as the record-breaking July, even a return to more normal levels of summer rainfall is unlikely to replenish low water levels in rivers and reservoirs in the short term.
At a national level, “we’re not going to get the 31 days of completely dry conditions that we had in July”, says Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office.
“Things are more unsettled already, back to more like normal summer weather, and there will be some rain around next week.”
That will be mainly in northern Britain, however. In the south, “almost entirely dry conditions” are expected to continue for weeks and there could be more extreme heat this month.
