Yorkshire Water has imposed the United Kingdom’s first hosepipe ban of 2025, restricting non-essential water use for about five million households from 11 July. The utility said the county endured its driest and warmest spring on record, receiving just 15 centimetres of rain between February and June, and that reservoir storage has fallen to roughly 50 per cent, far below the seasonal norm. Other suppliers are following suit as dry conditions persist. South East Water will introduce a ban on 18 July across Kent and Sussex, Southern Water will do so on 21 July in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Thames Water plans a 22 July ban covering parts of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire. Together the measures mean more than eight million people will shortly be subject to temporary use restrictions on activities such as watering gardens, washing cars and filling paddling pools. The Environment Agency on 15 July declared a drought in the East and West Midlands after confirming England’s driest start to a year since 1976. National rainfall was 20 per cent below the long-term average in June, which was also the hottest on record. Reservoirs are only 76 per cent full on average, prompting water minister Emma Hardy to urge companies to follow their drought plans and the public to “use water wisely.” Utilities say they are stepping up leak repairs and capital investment but warn that sustained hot, dry weather could force wider curbs if rainfall does not improve. The National Drought Group will continue to monitor supplies, while customers risk fines of up to £1,000 for breaching the current bans.