More than half of England in drought experts say

A drought has officially been declared across more than half of England.

The announcement, by the Environment Agency, comes after recent record low rainfall and high temperatures.

It added that the impacts were already being felt, including low river levels, early harvests and high risk of wildfires.

More than 20 million people across the country are also under hosepipe bans, which have been introduced to help save water.

The Environment Agency (EA) is the government organisation in charge of looking after rivers, and protecting and improving the environment in England.

It said that seven regions are now in official drought conditions, including large parts of central, eastern and southern England.

They are:

East Anglia

Hertfordshire and the whole of London

Thames Valley

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Devon and Cornwall

the West Midlands

Wessex, covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and South Gloucestershire.

The announcement means the Environment Agency (EA) is increasing its response to the dry weather.

This includes carrying out more checks and placing tighter controls on how much water can be taken from rivers and underground water supplies.

It can also mean hosepipe bans being introduced if they are not already in place.

Last week, parts of north and mid Wales have become the first areas in the UK to enter drought conditions, according to Natural Resources Wales.

Wales has seen about 5% of the average rainfall for July, after a series of back-to-back heatwaves and a drier than usual April to June.

Scotland does not declare drought but monitors "water scarcity".

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said that some parts of eastern Scotland are in the most extreme category of "significant scarcity."

Northern Ireland is not currently in drought.

A drought is when there is a longer than expected period of dry weather, leading to a shortage of water.

Drought can affect people, plants and animals, and can cause rivers and lakes to dry up.

You can read more about droughts and what they mean here.

This summer has been especially hot and dry across much of the UK, with three widespread heatwaves and some parts of the country going more than a month without rainfall.

England, Wales and eastern Scotland have been the driest areas over recent weeks, and this follows a very dry spring in similar regions.

A lack of rainfall can be one cause of drought, but high temperatures can also contribute by causing water to evaporate from the soil.

Across the UK, water is collected in places called reservoirs which help supply clean, fresh water to homes and businesses around the country throughout the year.

But if there is a long time with little to no rain, then reservoirs may not have enough water to go around.

While droughts happen naturally, scientists say that climate change is increasing the risks, with higher summer temperatures drying out soils more quickly.

This can lead to more severe and longer-lasting droughts.