Eye-opening NASA pictures show how East Yorkshire has been scorched by heat

NASA has released eye-opening satellite images showing the impact of heat and drought on East Yorkshire.

The images, taken a year apart, show a stark contrast between a green and verdant Britain in 2021 and the scorched landscape of today. It follows the heatwave that brought unprecedented temperatures to the country.

Now, gardeners will be keeping their fingers crossed for rain over the next few days after an incredible dry period of weather. According to the Met Office, some eastern parts of England, including East Yorkshire, received around half the average amount of rainfall during June, before July’s heatwave even kicked in.

East Yorkshire was also among the sunniest parts of the country in June, the Met Office added, with up to 50 per cent more sunshine than usual for the time of year.

In July, meanwhile, parts of the South and East of England have had less than 1mm of rain so far, according to Met Office data. It means July could be declared the driest in the UK for 256 years, with less rain than the Sahara desert.

Last week, temperatures rose to an record high of more than 100F (37.8C) in some parts of East Yorkshire. Last Tuesday, a blazing fire tore through gardens in Hessle as the fire service tackled a surge in emergency calls.

Brian Gaze, a forecaster with The Weather Outlook, which is owned by IBM, told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s remarkable that parts of Britain have had less rain than the Sahara during July. The ground is bone dry, and very little rainfall is forecast into the first weeks of August.”

Met Office chief executive Penny Endersby said: “Our attention is turning to drought and when we might see any rain – and we’re not seeing any significant rain coming up.”

Rain showers were expected to bring some relief for East Yorkshire this evening, according to Met Office weather forecasters, with potential for further showers on Monday afternoon. Some could be “locally heavy”, with maximum temperature of 26C.

As fears turn towards an extended drought, forecasters say another heatwave is expected to sweep over the country again in August, with the long range forecast predicting temperatures of up to 32C.