General · 40 minutes ago

Southern England declared in severe drought across six areas

Photo by DigitalByNADAS Photography on Pexels

Two reservoirs are critically low: Ardingly in West Sussex is 19% full and Wimbleball in Somerset is 16%, against the 75% the Environment Agency would expect now. On Thursday, severe drought conditions were declared in areas of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex, and West Sussex, following the hottest summer ever recorded.

By BriefTea Editorial · 15 October 2026 at 19:08

Reported by Guardian · How we write briefs

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