From Stonehenge to the Serpentine - satellite images show impact of hot, dry summer

With much parts of England acceptable to articulation Wales arsenic being officially declared to beryllium successful drought, BBC Verify has been gathering outer imagery showing the interaction of this year's utmost summertime heat.

From historical sites and parks to reservoirs and play courses, the hot, adust upwind has changed however ample parts of the UK usually look.

This year's consecutive heatwaves and above-average temperatures person had a noticeable effect - adjacent compared with past summertime which was the UK's warmest connected record.

According to the UK government, astir each reservoirs successful England and Wales are officially classed arsenic having h2o levels beneath mean oregon low.

Five are exceptionally debased - among them Clywedog reservoir successful Powys which provides h2o supplies for parts of the West Midlands.

These outer images amusement however much of the banks of the reservoir are disposable this August compared with the aforesaid period past year.

Low reservoir levels person not been the superior origin of caller hosepipe bans and drought declarations - which are yet triggered by a deficiency of rainfall - crossed ample parts of England and Wales.

The Environment Agency has reported that reservoir retention is present astatine 69% successful England, which is beneath the semipermanent mean of 82% for the clip of twelvemonth but higher than during past year's drought.

However, successful its latest study the bureau says h2o retention levels are supra those recorded during akin periods successful 2022 and 2025.

While Scotland has not been arsenic severely affected arsenic England and Wales, July's rainfall was beneath mean for the southbound and eastbound of the country, with galore areas seeing little than fractional the semipermanent mean for the month.

This has led the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to pass of "significant" h2o scarcity successful the Borders and "moderate scarcity" successful areas connected the eastbound broadside of Scotland.

Hard and adust fairways were a cardinal talking constituent astatine golf's Open Championship which was held astatine Royal Birkdale connected Merseyside past month.

A side-by-side examination shows however overmuch greener the fairways appeared successful summertime 2025 compared with this year.

As the BBC reported earlier this month portion home users look hosepipe restrictions the rules for commercialized users - including play courses - vary.

When hosepipe bans are successful unit sports grounds tin usage hoses oregon sprinklers - but lone to h2o writer areas "actively utilized for play". For play courses this means the greens and tees tin beryllium irrigated but the fairways cannot.

Right successful the bosom of the UK capital, Hyde Park's celebrated Serpentine water was closed for swimming connected Monday due to the fact that of precocious levels of blue-green algae.

Blue-green algae hap naturally, but warm, sunny and settled conditions tin assistance blooms develop. Some tin beryllium harmful to radical and animals.

A akin contented is affecting Killington Reservoir successful southbound Cumbria. Satellite images amusement a disposable alteration successful the h2o betwixt 24 May and 8 August, wherever a blue-green algal bloom has been confirmed.

As BBC Verify antecedently reported parts of the state are suffering from "vegetation stress" wherever the improvement and maturation of plants, writer and crops tin beryllium severely affected.

Vegetation turning brown, adjacent connected this scale, does not mean the plants person disappeared oregon died, arsenic grass, shrubs and immoderate trees tin retrieve erstwhile rainfall returns, provided their basal systems stay intact.

Experts person said the operation of next-to-no rainfall and prolonged blistery upwind is apt to origin important issues for the farming manufacture and could person an interaction connected agriculture and nutrient prices successful the coming months.

And possibly counter-intuitively, prolonged adust upwind tin rise the hazard of flash flooding erstwhile it yet does rain. That is due to the fact that parched, rock-hard crushed whitethorn conflict to sorb h2o astatine first, truthful immoderate rainwater whitethorn simply tally disconnected the aboveground instead.

Scientists besides pass the UK is facing a increasing hazard of h2o shortages successful the decades ahead, driven by human-caused clime alteration and accrued demand.

Graphics by Tom Shiel