Severe drought declared in parts of southern England

The Environment Agency has declared a severe drought in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Sussex after months of low rainfall and the hottest summer on record. The Ardingly reservoir in West Sussex and Wimbleball in Somerset are of particular concern, standing at 19.4% and 14.9% of capacity respectively. The government says customer water supplies will remain uninterrupted and plans daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels, alongside tougher checks on water abstraction. The agency says reservoir storage has continued to fall at most reservoirs in England.