Swathes of England are suffering from “flash drought” as a result of very low rainfall and high temperatures, the Environment Agency has said. The government agency said seven areas of central, eastern and southern England – around half of the country – have been declared as officially in drought. With a few days left to go, this month could end up as the driest July on record, with England having just 7% of expected rainfall, and southern England seeing just 1%. The UK and England record, set on June 26, came from the same station – Lingwood in Norfolk – as the provisional reading, the Met Office said. Before this year, the record number of days of 35C or above was five, set in the heatwave and drought summer of 1976.