England and Wales have experienced their driest July on record. England received just 6.5mm of rainfall, which is only 10% of the country's average for the month. This was reported by infohub.kz.
Wales also had its driest July on record, while Northern Ireland recorded its eighth driest. Scotland did not set a new record but still received only 69% of its average rainfall for July. Southern England was hit hardest by the dry conditions, with some areas, including the Sussex coast, receiving less than 0.2mm of rain in July. This led to a sharp drop in soil moisture and allowed temperatures to rise above 30 degrees Celsius.
Looking ahead, despite significant rain in the north, parts of southern England may only see occasional showers for the rest of August. Throughout the summer, weather forecasts suggested that more unsettled weather could reach south-east England within a 10-day period. However, as time went on, rain was largely confined to the north-west of Britain and did not significantly reach the south-east. Due to the great uncertainty in forecast models, the risk of the dry period continuing cannot be ruled out.
In the Atlantic, about 1,000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, a disturbance is being monitored. The National Hurricane Center has predicted an 80% chance of the cyclone forming as a short-lived tropical depression within the next 48 hours. If such a system strengthens, it would become the fourth named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season and would be named Dolly. Regardless of development, there is a risk of strong winds and heavy rain in the Lesser Antilles on Friday night and into Saturday. This year's strong El Niño is expected to play a significant role in reducing hurricane activity in the Atlantic.
In India, the monsoon continues to cause devastation, especially in eastern regions. Flooding in the state of Assam has caused 100 deaths as of 10 August. Flooding caused by overflowing rivers has displaced 700,000 people over the past month, including 300,000 near the Brahmaputra, one of Asia's largest rivers. The monsoon also brought significant lightning, which killed 14 people in eastern India on 4 August, including 10 in the Giridih district. Many of the dead were farm workers caught in open fields with no shelter from such storms.