Most of England could be placed under a hosepipe ban this summer, the Environment Agency has warned, joining millions of households already barred from watering their gardens this summer.

The agency is expected to set out plans today that could see several more regions officially designated as being in drought, following a meeting with government officials and industry leaders.

Up to five additional areas could face drought status by September, prompting further water restrictions as prolonged dry conditions persist.

Thames Water is the latest supplier to announce a hosepipe ban, coming into effect on Tuesday next week for customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, most of Wiltshire, and parts of Berkshire.

The decision follows the Environment Agency’s move to place the region under its ‘prolonged dry weather’ classification.

Three regions, Cumbria and Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, are already in drought, with three water firms having introduced hosepipe bans after an exceptionally dry spring.

Under the watchdog’s worst-case scenario, millions more across the Midlands and central southern England could face similar measures in the weeks ahead.

If England gets 80 per cent of its long-term average rainfall and warm temperatures over the coming weeks, the total number of areas given ‘drought’ status could reach eight by September, the agency forecasts.

In this scenario, the West Midlands, East Midlands, Thames Wessex, parts of the Solent and South Downs, parts of East Anglia and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire could also be in drought by the end of the summer.

To prepare for and tackle the impacts, the Environment Agency said it has been working closely with water companies, which are following their drought plans to ensure supply, as well as the National Farmers’ Union and local authorities.

In a briefing to reporters on Monday, Richard Thompson, water resources deputy director of the watchdog, said: ‘We certainly expect more regions to enter drought status.

‘We’ll be announcing that at the National Drought group tomorrow. That could extend further, depending under a reasonable worst case scenario.

‘Obviously, if we were to get average rainfall or above, it might slow down the rate in which new parts of the country enter official drought status, but we do expect more.’

Mr Thompson said the watchdog is planning towards its reasonable worst case scenario but has also ‘stress tested’ these preparations against some more extreme scenarios where hot and dry conditions could push even more areas into drought, and faster.

‘We continue to respond to the current situation, but also to prepare for all eventualities,’ he said.

The watchdog said it expects to see other companies follow with their own hosepipe bans as they stick to their drought plans, although this will also be dependent on the rainfall and temperatures in the coming weeks.

Scientists said the recent extreme conditions have been made more likely due to human-caused climate change, bringing wide-ranging impacts on farmers and the environment.

Stuart Sampson, drought manager at the Environment Agency, said the situation for farmers has been ‘deteriorating’ with already low levels in irrigation reservoirs prompting concerns for the rest of the summer.

Some farmers have been reporting poor crop quality as well as lower yields on livestock, while fears are growing over the impact that conditions could have on winter feed.

Anger is growing among farmers in East Anglia, who face an abstraction ban preventing them from irrigating crops due to low river levels, while a hosepipe ban has not been put in place.

The Environment Agency said it has carried out fish rescues as the higher temperatures cause fish die-offs, as well as blue-green algae blooms in waterways, which can be harmful to ecosystems, pets and people using the water.

Meanwhile, canal and river trusts have reported restrictions and closures, caused by the low levels in reservoirs that supply the networks.

‘These are in a worse position than in any other droughts over the past 20 years,’ Mr Sampson said.

While the Environment Agency is planning for its reasonable worst case scenario, Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office said July is likely to see more changeable weather, with sporadic rainfall and some hot spells.

And for the longer-term outlook, Mr Lang said there is ‘no strong signal’ for it being very dry or extremely wet.

‘It could go either way, but the most likely situation is that we will have somewhere near average rainfall for the UK and also for England and Wales as a whole,’ he said.

Asked how this year compares with the famous drought year of 1976 and the record temperatures of 2022, Mr Sampson said the Environment Agency is not expecting to see the same level of impact.

He said this is because the county is better prepared now than in 1976, which was also preceded by a dry winter and previous summer, unlike the weather seen in 2024.

Meanwhile, the extreme heat in 2022 brought on a ‘flash drought’ that saw drought conditions occurring ‘really, really quickly’, he added.

On wildfires, Mr Thompson said the watchdog is aware reports have been increasing and is working closely with local authorities to ensure emergency services are ready to respond.

‘We haven’t had any widespread reports so far,’ he said, but added that the south and east of the country are more likely to see wildfires if more are to happen.

The heat caused havoc on residents in east London with firefighters racing to put out grass fires over the weekend. 

In less than three hours, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) were deployed to incidents in Dagenham, Hornchurch and Walthamstow on Monday.

In Dagenham, residents were told to eave their homes as 20 fire engines and around 125 firefighters battled an eight-hectare wildfire.

Shrubland, trees, fences and garden furniture were seen burning behind Clemence Road in Dagenham with locals nearby ordered to leave their homes.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) advised residents to keep their doors and windows shut due to the smoke, with the public also advised to avoid the area due to road closures.

The Brigade’s Control Office took the first of over 75 calls at 6.30pm and the fire was ‘under control’ by 9.46pm.

Meanwhile, an additional eight fire engines and 60 firefighters attended another eight-acre blaze near Wingletye Lane in Hornchurch, with the brigade called at 8.10pm and the blaze controlled by wildfire beaters by 10.31pm.

In Walthamstow, three hectares of grassland were destroyed by a fire, with the Control Office first receiving one of 49 calls at 8.55. The blaze was ‘under control’ by 11.23pm.

Firefighter Craig Fenner said: ‘Firefighters worked extremely hard to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby properties.

‘The fire had reached some garden fences, sheds and garden furniture. As well as our jets, we used wildfire beaters to beat the flames and stop them from reaching the properties.

‘Firefighters will remain at the scene for the next few hours to continue to dampen down the surrounding area.’

Station commander Matt Hayward added: ‘We also thank Barking and Dagenham Council who had put fire breaks in place, which helped stop the fire from reaching the properties.

‘We also had great support from our blue light colleagues, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and the London Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team.’

Meanwhile, in the south coast, a huge wildfire broke out in New Forest in Hampshire, on Saturday evening.

The dramatic blaze happened in Beaulieu and caused thick black smoke to pour into the sky, throwing up soot and debris.

A video shows the dramatic scale of the gorse fire with bright orange flames visible from miles away on July 12. 

It took firefighters two hours to dampen down the fire, which covered a patch of gorse measuring around 60 metres by 40 metres.

The fire took place close to the Royal Oak pub and one of their staff was the first to call it in at around 9.30pm last night.

Assistant manager James Winters described the scene as ‘quite a blaze’.

He said: ‘There was black smoke and I thought maybe a car had been burnt out and it had caught stuff around it.

‘It was one of our guys that called the fire brigade as he was leaving at about 9.30pm. He was just driving out to go home when he saw it.

‘I think they got hold of it quite quickly and it was out before midnight, about 11.20pm. They did a really good job.’

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) said a specialist vehicle was used to help tackle the blaze.

They said: ‘On-call firefighters tackled a large gorse bush fire on Exbury Road in Beaulieu last night.

‘Crews from Hardley and Beaulieu were alerted shortly before 10pm and were supported by specialist water carrier vehicle from Eastleigh.

‘Hose reels and jets were used to extinguish the blaze which affected a 60m by 40m area of gorse.

‘Firefighters dampened down the scene and arranged a reinspection in the morning before handing the incident over to Forestry England teams.

‘HIWFRS returned to station at around midnight.’