London’s Kew Gardens, home to a weather station since 1871, recorded its first calendar month with no rain in 155 years.
Europe is struggling with a continent-wide drought: Record low water levels in the Danube river have forced Hungary to shut down its only nuclear power plant, and the government is preparing for blackouts and electricity rationing at a time when the country’s economy is struggling.
Romania’s Cernavodă plant, also on the Danube, has already shut down and the Rhine’s water shortage has disrupted German trade.
Though London’s first-ever rain-free month is not confirmed, there is no end in sight: forecasters said there was “little sign of the widespread, sustained rainfall that would be needed” to end the UK’s drought.