Three million people in the UK will be under a hosepipe ban this month after Kent and Sussex announced emergency drought measures.

South East Water said it had “no choice” but to restrict the use of water in its area from 12 August.

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Last week, Southern Water announced that just under a million people in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight would be under the same ban from this Friday

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Because rivers in the area were running dangerously dry.

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This July was the driest in England for more than 100 years

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And some areas have faced their driest summer on record.

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In a statement on its website, South East Water said: “This has been a time of extreme weather conditions across the UK.

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Official figures show this is the driest July on record since 1935 and the period between November 2021 and July 2022 has been the driest eight-month stint since 1976.

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During July in the south-east, we have only seen 8% of average rainfall for the month

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And the long-term forecast for August and September is for similar weather.

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Thank you for watching

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