Grassland in Wales has turned brown and yellow as the prolonged dry and warm weather continues. The conditions since May have left parks, sports pitches and farmland scorched. Farmers are counting significant crop losses as the lack of rainfall continues, while many football and rugby pitches have become unusable due to the baked-hard ground and dying grass.
Prolonged dry weather status
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) updated the weather status as "prolonged dry weather" for north and south-east Wales as of July 16. Indicators of this status include prolonged low flow rivers, lowering groundwater levels and reduced rainfall for the time of year, the website states. "Other indicators show reduced soil moisture, increased reports of impacts to ecosystems, land, water supply and other sectors. The decision to change to this status across parts of Wales is based on reaching most of these indicators and emerging concerns for the environment and land management." The decision has been shared with the Wales Drought Liaison Group.
Affected rivers and rainfall
The rivers affected are: Dee (Wales), Clwyd, Upper Severn, North Gwynedd (Conwy, Anglesey, Arfon, Dwyfor), South Gwynedd (Meirionydd), Wye (Wales), Usk, Valleys (Taff, Ebbw, Rhymney, Ely), Vale of Glamorgan (Thaw). As of 16 July 2026, July so far has seen no or very little rainfall across the Welsh catchments at only 0-10% of the July Long Term Average, NRW states.
