Eight areas across England are now in prolonged dry weather – the stage before drought.

Dry, cracked earth is already evident in some parts of the UK, such as here in Cambridgeshire Parts of southern, central and eastern England are now close to drought, according to the National Drought Group, external. As of Monday, East Anglia, the West Midlands, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and London, Wessex, Thames, Solent and the South Downs, are in "prolonged dry weather", the stage before drought. The group, which brings together the Met Office, the National Farmers' Union, water companies and other expert bodies, made the announcement on Tuesday. It comes as a further 10.1 million people are to be impacted by a hosepipe ban, as Thames Water announces a hosepipe ban for all its customers from Thursday. The latest announcement means that more than 20 million people will be living under hosepipe bans by the end of this week. Agriculture and wildlife are also experiencing consequences. The areas in yellow are in "prolonged dry weather", according to the National Drought Group Drought - simply defined as a lack of water - has no official threshold criteria, but the National Drought Group will assess conditions to decide if one should be declared.