Drought Officially declared across large parts of England
Eight parts of England, including Devon, Kent, East Anglia and Lincolnshire, are affected.
The move is expected to trigger stricter controls on water use, and five water companies have already announced restrictions, including hosepipe bans.
Millions are expected to be impacted, but the Environment Agency said essential water supplies were safe.
John Curtin, director of operations, said the drought would go on for "a long time" and warned of possible crop growth restrictions and hosepipe bans.
The prolonged dry weather - combined with the current heatwave and July's record-breaking temperatures - has depleted rivers, reservoirs and aquifers.
Large swathes of England are bone-dry, with scenes of parched earth and grass turned yellow.
The conditions have prompted the Environment Agency to move eight of its 14 areas into drought status:
Yorkshire and the West Midlands are also expected to move into a drought later in August.
The decision to declare a drought was taken after a meeting of the National Drought Group - comprised of government and agency officials, water firms and groups including the National Farmers' Union.
Announcing a drought means government and water companies will implement their plans to deal with it, with measures including hosepipe bans and taking more water than usual from rivers.
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