After announcing a state of drought officially in parts of England, shocking pictures show the impact of drought on the country

<p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><strong>Weather of Arabia</strong> - The British government announced, Friday (August 12), that parts of southern, central and eastern England have officially moved to a state of drought, after a long period of hot, dry weather in the European continent.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The announcement, which would impose decisions and restrictions on water consumption, is the first of its kind since 2018.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The announcement comes amid a heat wave in the Kingdom, the second during the summer season, and in a country unaccustomed to high temperatures.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Environment Minister Steve Daubel said the government, the Environment Agency and others had already taken action to deal with the fallout.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><h2 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>Unprecedented drought hits the country</strong></h2><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The rate of drying upstream of the Thames, England&#39;s longest river, has reached an all-time high downstream, and the natural spring that feeds the river or its source dries up for most of the summer, but this year the drought has reached the downstream even more. than in previous years, according to the observations of conservation experts.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Britain&#39;s Met Office said last July was the driest in England since 1935, with an average rainfall of 23.1 millimeters, just 35% of the average for this month.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The latest data from the Environment Agency showed total rainfall in August ranged from an average long-term 12% in north-east England to 0% in the south-east southwest of England.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> On the other hand, river flow data revealed that about 90% of the measurement sites show readings below normal, while 29% were classified as &quot;unusually low&quot;.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> These pictures show the impact of the drought situation on England through the drop in the water level in the main water reservoirs in the country, in the following pictures compared to the water level before and after the drought: </p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/08/08/15/Bewl%20water.jpg?quality=... style="width: 640px; height: 426px;" /></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> (After a drought: a dramatic drop in water levels in the Bewl reservoir in southeast England) </h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/08/08/15/Bewl%20Water3.jpg?quality... style="width: 640px; height: 427px;" /></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> (Before drought: normal water levels in a &#39;Bewl&#39; reservoir in southeast England) </h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZoLkm_XkAEojCf?format=jpg&amp;name=large" style="width: 680px; height: 394px;" /></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>(After the drought: a significant drop in the water level of a Lancashire reservoir)</strong></h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong><img alt="" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/08/08/16/Stocks_Reservoir_viewed_f... style="width: 640px; height: 480px;" /></strong></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>(Before drought: the water level of a Lancashire reservoir before drought)</strong> </h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/08/08/16/Ardingly%20Reservoir.jpg?... style="width: 640px; height: 437px;" /></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>(After the drought: the water level in the Ardingley Reservoir in West Sussex has fallen)</strong> </h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/08/08/16/Arindgly%20June%202020.jp... style="width: 640px; height: 360px;" /></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>(Before drought: Pre-drought water level in Ardingley Reservoir, West Sussex)</strong> </h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SEC_118826353-bf99.jpg?qu... style="width: 664px; height: 349px;" /></p><h6 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>(Map shows swathes of Britain turning into desert-like drylands - with more than 60% of Europe now under drought warnings as bushfires rage)</strong> </h6><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SEI_118830051-1633.jpg?qu... style="width: 668px; height: 418px;" /></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>You may also be interested in: <a href="https://www.arabiaweather.com/ar/content/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%81%D8%A7%... hits the source of the famous Thames for the first time in its history... and other famous rivers exhausted by drought and heat waves</a></strong></p>