A further 16million Britons have been warned they could face a hosepipe ban over the coming weeks after the third heatwave of the summer hit the UK.
Thames Water revealed it would impose restrictions after ‘ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand’ unless the situation ‘changes significantly’.
Customers were urged by the company to use water sparingly given the region it serves has seen just half of its expected rainfall over the last three months.
The Environment Agency has declared a state of ‘prolonged dry weather’ in large parts of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey – meaning a heightened risk of drought.
Thames Water said daily demand in Swindon and Oxfordshire peaked during the UK’s last heatwave on June 30 at a level not seen since in the 2022 drought.
People are being encouraged to take shorter showers, turn the tap off while brushing teeth and letting their lawn go dry to help reduce big increases in demand.
Bosses also warned that the extended warm weather was bringing ‘increased risks of leaks and bursts due to pipe stress and shifting foundations in the ground’.
A Thames Water spokesman said: ‘The ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand is impacting our water supplies across the Thames Valley. Unless the situation changes significantly, we will need to put usage restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, in place to ensure taps keep running for customers’ essential use.’
Further north, households in Yorkshire will become the first to be hit with a hosepipe ban from tomorrow after months of extremely hot and dry weather across England.
Yorkshire Water said restrictions on using hosepipes for activities such as watering the garden, cleaning cars and filling paddling pools will be brought in to try to protect supplies in the face of more dry weather forecast in the coming weeks.
The hottest July temperature recorded in the UK is 40.3C, which was reached in Coningsby in Lincolnshire on July 19 2022.
This was the first – and so far only – date on which temperatures above 40C have been officially recorded anywhere in the country.
Before 2022, the record for the highest July temperature was 38.7C, which was reached at the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge on July 25 2019, according to Met Office data.
Last year, temperatures climbed as high as 32.0C at both Heathrow and Kew Gardens in London on July 30.
The 30C mark has been reached in July somewhere in the UK in every year since 2011, when temperatures peaked at only 27.4C.
The highest temperature so far this month is 34.7C, which was measured at St James’s Park in London on July 1.
The average warmest July on record was in 2006, when the mean temperature for the UK across the month was 17.8C.
Six of the top 10 warmest Julys have occurred since the start of the 21st century.
The top 10 includes 2018 (the second warmest), 2021 (sixth), 2022 (seventh) and 2019 (10th).
Met Office data for temperature begins in 1884.
The UK’s sunniest July on record was in 1955, when an average of 256.9 hours of sunshine were measured during the month.
The most recent year to appear in the top 10 sunniest Julys is 2018, sitting in seventh place with 234.0 hours.
Met Office data for sunshine starts in 1910.
The driest July since records began was in 1868, when an average of just 23.2mm of rain was measured across the UK.
The top 10 driest Julys includes no years from the 21st century and only four years from the 20th century: 1955 (in third place), 1913 (fourth), 1984 (sixth) and 1983 (eighth).
Rainfall records begin in 1836.
Customers who ignore the hosepipe ban could face fines of up to £1,000, but the utility said ‘we hope it won’t come to that’ as it urged households to help conserve water by sticking to the restrictions.
The temporary restrictions coming into force for Yorkshire include using a hosepipe to water gardens and wash private vehicles, fill domestic pools or clean outdoor surfaces.
People can still wash their car and water their gardens using tap water from a bucket or watering can, while the region’s 139,000 businesses will be allowed to use a hosepipe if it is directly related to an essential commercial purpose – but not for other uses such as cleaning paths outside a business property.
Youlgrave Waterworks, a private firm which supplies 500 homes in Derbyshire, became the first to introduce a hosepipe ban at the start of last month.
But Yorkshire Water is the first major utility to bring in restrictions for its 5.7million customers.
The company said the region has experienced both the driest and warmest spring on record this year, receiving just 15cm (6in) of rainfall between February and June, less than half of what is expected in an average year.
There has also been a higher water demand, leaving the region’s reservoirs at 55.8 per cent full, which is 26.1 per cent lower than they would normally be at this time of year.
England has experienced the hottest spring from March to May on record, and the driest in over a century, followed by the hottest June on record, with two searing heatwaves hitting parts of the country in the second part of the month and into July, and another impacting some areas this week.
Scientists claim human-caused climate change is driving increasingly extreme weather such as hotter drier summers, and making heatwaves such as those seen recently, which can push up water use just as supplies are scarce, more intense and frequent.
A drought was declared by the Environment Agency across Yorkshire last month, while the North West of England entered drought status in May – though the region’s water company United Utilities said on Tuesday it had no plans to announce a similar hosepipe ban.
It comes as the country’s third heatwave within a month began yesterday, with temperatures of up to 33C (91F) expected and Wimbledon fans and players in for a sweltering weekend.
The Met Office said the tennis championships’ women’s final on Saturday and men’s final on Sunday could see the mercury rise above 30C (86F) amid very high UV and pollen levels.
Scotland is also due to hit the heatwave threshold, with temperatures on the east coast forecast to be up to 31C (88F) on Saturday and potentially break local records, according to Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick.
Despite not being as warm as the heatwave at the beginning of July, the hot spell is forecast to last longer and cover a broader area.
Mr Eslick said: ‘It is going to be a hot one with little cloud around. UV levels are going to be pretty high so anyone going to the (Wimbledon) finals should wear plenty of sun cream and stay hydrated as there is not going to be too much of a breeze to cool down.
‘Pollen levels are also going to be high, so any hayfever sufferers should take medication to reduce that risk.’
The UK Health Security Agency issued yellow heat health alerts yesterday covering parts of central and southern England, valid until next Tuesday.
It comes after two amber heat health alerts were issued in consecutive weeks at the end of last month amid two separate heatwaves.
This week, temperatures are not expected to beat the 35.8C (78.4F) at Faversham in Kent on July 1 during the second heatwave of 2025 – which was the UK’s hottest day in three years.
That beat the warmest day of 2024 which was 34.8C (94.6F) in Cambridge on August 12; and the 2023 peak which was 33.5C (92.3F) on September 10, also in Faversham.
The 2022 high of 40.3C (104.5F) on July 19 in Lincolnshire remains the UK’s highest temperature on record.
The peak during the first heatwave of this year was at Charlwood in Surrey which got up to 33.2C (91.8F) on June 21.
Today, in the South of England and Wales, temperatures of up to 31C (88F) are possible before 32C (90F) tomorrow.
On the east coast of Scotland, temperatures are expected to reach 25C (77F) today and 28C (82F) tomorrow.
They should peak at up to 31C (88F) on Saturday before coming down to 28C (82F) or 29C (84F) on Sunday.
The temperature will slowly start to decrease by Monday or Tuesday.
In the north of England, today could see highs of 27C (81F), edging up to 29C (84F) on tomorrow and 30C (86F) on Saturday with isolated highs of 31C (88F).
Mr Eslick added that the weekend would be very sunny and dry, with the wildfire risk classed as moderate.
He said: ‘We’ve not had a lot of rain over the last few days and weeks. Make sure barbecues are extinguished thoroughly as the ground will be pretty dry.’
To be considered a heatwave, the temperature needs to reach or surpass 28C (82F) in the South and 25C (77F) in the North for at least three consecutive days.