A field of barley went up in Faversham, where one of my neighbours works, a few days ago a park was set alight on the island and last night another country park went up in nearby Sittingbourne. I suspect it's only a matter of time until the country park in Leysdown goes up, all it takes is a discarded barbecue, a cigarette end or even a broken bottle!

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/six-fire-engines-called-to-blaze-in-barley-field-as-temperat-343219/ 

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/field-fire-that-burned-for-hours-being-treated-as-suspicious-342941/ 

https://scontent-lhr11-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/758765119_1820866032241039_3291595712203938250_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx750x536&ctp=s750x536&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aa7b47&_nc_ohc=bvMxOw3ZMjIQ7kNvwEBMP0_&_nc_oc=AdppT62DU4K6SXkCBMauAxlDkmK8Xzqj_r1y5KFlVyApqoIaMKKJ2YXluU3LLPsEJx8&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr11-1.xx&_nc_gid=f1tuX-dKzlcPWEKUOsz1eQ&_nc_ss=7b2a8&oh=00_AQDz6BktqsNEuj6p_Kd5goeLds0WofcQYqEgLSEeWYcQHg&oe=6A6E42EB 

This July for me is genuinely the only total rainless month I have known. It's incredible to experience.  🙂🙂🙂

The last rainfall here was 24th June but up till that date June was very wet (about 70mm in Kew IIRC) which we can now see was probably just as well as even with this accumulation everything round here is now totally parched

Another way is an arsonist doing it for a variety of reasons. One could also hypothesise it's sometimes a 'hybrid' affair. The financial/environmental costs of dealing with these fires must be enormous but certainly of benefit to someone. 

The last rain here was from that massive Thunderstorm in early to mid june, during the second heatwave. cant remember the date. 

But we had about a months worth in one go.  I assume some of it made it down to root level which is helping the trees get through this

Last time this happend was back in 2022.

Most of the south is the same except in the extreme S.E. corner, whilst we got the 70mm at the start of June, there was just 18mm from mid  to late March in the months preceding that. That's the problem.

More than half of England officially in drought, Environment Agency says

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1m1zg9j5plo 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgljz92j0j0o 

EDIt - though I'm doubtful about including the one which appears to show a tidal river

The first BBC one is familiar. The place where people picnic under the cliffs and get buried.

I assume Moomin is having a bumper cricket summer.

He's been very quiet this summer which means he must be!

Once again, this does not makes for very good reading despite some recent rainfall which resulted in Edinburgh Gogarbank recording its wettest day of this year so far just a couple of days ago.

You may well have noticed that I have being going on quite a lot just lately about the manner in which the rain has just kept on refusing to fall here in Hawick even whilst Edinburgh and the weather station at Charterhall were experiencing its wettest day of the year so far. That has been reflected in this week's report as well because in response to that, there is a warning in this report that unless there is some substantial rainfall here in the next week, this area will have its status upgraded all the way to significant water scarcity status with water extraction restrictions being introduced as a result as that is the highest possible status which you can go to. This warning also applies to the Tay Estuary and the city of Dundee.

There are three areas which have already had their status upgraded to significant water status with these areas being the East Neuk of Fife and in Tayside and a small part of Aberdeenshire. In these areas, water extraction restrictions have also been introduced.

In addition to that, three areas have had their status upgraded to moderate water scarcity status including the city of Aberdeen and Speyside. There is also one area in Central Scotland which has had its status upgraded at alert status.

For Now, Edinburgh and the Borders remains at moderate water scarcity status with that above mentioned warning for the Borders.

However, the recent rainfall has resulted three areas in Ayrshire having their status downgraded from alert status to early warning status with three areas returning to normal in SW Scotland and in Inverness-shire.

Amazing how easily grass can come back from the dead.  At least I hope mine does this time.  Looks far worse than 2018 or 2022.  gone black in patches

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/busy-route-blocked-by-fallen-tree-343190/ 

Sound like a big limb to fall off.  Perhaps the wood dried up so that crack off easily, so lucky no was killed by this.

Funnily enough I was out on my bike in the woods near Broadmoor this morning and one path was almost blocked by a huge tree limb that had fallen from an oak tree. We havn't had much wind down here laytely so maybe that was it. Good thing nobody was under it when it went anyway.

Meanwhile the latest GFS has just 1mm of rain here in the next 10 days. Assuming that equates to zero (as it usually does) that will make 50 days with no measurable rainfall at the Odiham Met Office station.

I think the water companies are counting on a wet autumn and winter to prevent a disaster next year for some places. 

Here are two articles saying the French fires near Bordeaux were/are due to a historic forest management that began with Napoleon III.

"This isn't a fire in a natural forest," said Raphaël Morera, an environmental historian at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, in an interview. "It’s a fire in a forest that was planted there to support an industrial activity."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/human-made-forest-france-wildfires-9.7287788 

https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/frances-forest-management-change-prevent-wildfires-les-landes-135261109 

The heathland and gorse in the UK that burn so well in these conditions are man-made places that have become home to a range of rare plants and animals. Using seawater to try and extinguish them shows how desperate the RSPB et al are. Depending on how fast the salt washes out, it's still going to be a long time before vegetation can regrow in these salted patches.