Wildfires and record dry conditions trigger drought in parts of Wales

Wales is the first part of the UK to face an announcement of drought status so far this summer

Widespread wildfires, river levels approaching all-time lows and the mounting impacts of successive heatwaves have triggered a drought status for parts of Wales, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has confirmed.

Wales has seen about 5% of the average rainfall for July, after a series of back-to-back heatwaves and a drier than usual April to June.

Afonydd Cymru, which represents Wales' rivers trusts, said low river flows were causing "significant problems", killing fish and other wildlife, while farming unions warned of failing crops and heat-stressed livestock.

NRW said the areas affected included North and South Gwynedd, Ynys Môn, also known as Anglesey, Dee, Clwyd and Upper Severn.

It is the first part of the UK to face an announcement of drought status so far this summer.

NRW announced last week that north and south-east Wales were moving to "prolonged dry weather" status - classed as a first step towards drought.

It triggered enhanced monitoring and checks of waterways and important sites for wildlife as well as advice for farmers and others who use water from rivers.

Now the regulator says the threshold has been reached for a drought to be declared across north and parts of mid Wales - based on exceptionally low river and groundwater levels, dry soils, impacts on wildlife, farming and forestry.

The rest of mid and south Wales was also now classed as being in "prolonged dry weather" status.

July is on course to become the driest in Wales for almost 190 years if significant rainfall does not arrive before the end of the month.

Rivers classed as exceptionally low include the Clwyd, Alwen, Alyn, Clywedog, Dyfi and Conwy in north Wales as well as the Wye, which runs through parts of mid Wales and south along the border with England.

Extra water was being released from reservoirs to support flows on the Clwyd and Wye, as well as the river Severn in the south east and the Dee in north-east Wales.

Rhian Thomas, sustainable water and nature manager at NRW, said: "The prolonged period of hot, dry weather we have experienced this summer is now having serious impacts on the environment across parts of Wales.

"We have seen rivers fall to exceptionally low levels, groundwater continuing to decline and increasing reports of environmental impacts affecting wildlife, fisheries, farming and sensitive habitats.

She added that the recent wildfires across north and south east Wales were "one of the clearest and most visible signs of how dry our landscapes have become