According to Flood Radar, just 0.2 mm of rain fell at a monitoring station near the sewage works in south Abingdon during July 2026. The July average is around 37 mm. By contrast, June rainfall at this monitoring station was above average.

In southern England, July has been reported as the driest on record. To help conserve water supplies, there is a temporary hosepipe ban, but there are a number of exemptions.

You may still see sprinklers operating on cricket pitches or other sports grounds. Watering is permitted where it is necessary to maintain a safe playing surface, but not the entire ground.

Other exemptions include:

* Food crops where watering with a hosepipe is essential.
* Commercial horticulture and plants grown for sale.
* Animal welfare, including ponds containing fish.
* People with certain disabilities or medical conditions who qualify for exemptions.

* Newly planted street trees (planted within the last three years where hand watering is not practical).

Some newly planted street trees have been provided with watering bags and labels asking people to become Tree Guardians by helping to keep them watered. This tree appears to have been badly affected by the prolonged dry weather. If its roots are still alive, regular watering over the coming weeks could still give it a chance of recovery.

Caldecott Recreation Ground has taken on the colour of a wheat field, and looks as parched as many of Abingdon’s parks, playing fields and grass verges.

Today marks the start of Thames Water’s temporary hosepipe ban across much of the region. So anybody who has managed to keep their grass green could find it harder over the coming days which look to be dry and mostly sunny.

This morning the sun shone and there were no clouds to shade its brilliance.

Town council staff were out early in the Market Place, giving the hanging baskets much-needed water. On a day like this, hydration wasn’t just important for plants, but for the town’s people too.

The Climate Emergency Centre opened, unusually on Tuesday and Wednesday, to offer the use of the cool basement space below the museum, where people could have a drink of water,

Most state schools closed for the afternoon and are expected to close tomorrow afternoon as temperatures remain high.

Some people headed to the River Thames, with paddle boards and canoes. The open-air pool was busy, and other people relaxed by the river bank.

Temperatures reached around 34°C today in Abingdon, with another hot day forecast for tomorrow. The hottest June temperature ever recorded in the UK happened today. It was 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire

Looking ahead, the forecast suggests the heat will continue through Thursday before any change.