The Environment Agency has announced the West Midlands is set to experience its driest July on record during what is being described as a 'flash drought'. This rapid-onset drought is the result of record low rainfall combined with unusually high temperatures. Helen Wakeham, director of water at the Environment Agency and chair of the National Drought Group, said: "The hot and dry weather means we are currently using water faster than nature can replenish it. In response to the drought, The Environment Agency has intensified actions, including restrictions on water abstraction, increased monitoring, and wildlife protection efforts. Other regions remain in a "prolonged dry weather" category, and only Yorkshire and the North East are currently classified as normal.