England recorded 6.5mm of rain across July, roughly a tenth of the long-run average and the lowest July total since the Met Office rainfall series began in 1836 [1]. The previous record, 13.4mm, had stood since 1911 [1].
Wales followed the same pattern. It logged 9.3mm of rain, about 9 percent of its average and below the 22.6mm it recorded in 1911 [1]. Southern England had its driest month of any kind across the full span of the record, not only its driest July [1].
Met Office science manager Dr. Amy Doherty tied the rainfall figure to two other extremes measured over the same weeks. "The combination of record-breaking dryness, exceptional warmth and unprecedented sunshine has delivered one of the most notable summer months in our historical records," she said [1].
The record sits inside a longer signal. A July that delivers a tenth of normal rain across England is the kind of event a 190-year series is built to catch, and this one cleared a mark that had held for more than a century [1].
