Fears for crops and gardens as East Anglia faces driest June on record

Another week of hot dry weather is set to take its toll on farms and gardens across the Anglia region.

With very little rain in the first three weeks of the month and none forecast for the remaining few days, it is likely to be the driest June on record in East Anglia.

• Click to watch a report on the hot weather and the problems faced by East Anglian farmers by Malcolm Robertson

The Met Office holds weather records for East Anglia dating back to 1910 and during that period the driest June was in 1962 with just 5.6 mm (less than a quarter of an inch) of rain.

So far in June 2018 there was barely been 4 mm of rain or less than 10% of the usual amount expected during the month.

Monday 25 June has been the hottest day of 2018 so far although it expected to get hotter later in the week.

The highest temperature in the UK on Monday was 30.1°C (86.2°F) recorded in the London area while the hottest place in the Anglia region was Cavendish in Suffolk where it reached 29.2°C (84.6°F).

• Click to watch a report on the hot weather in the west of the Anglia region by Sarah Byrd

This week is expected to the hottest week of the year so far in the United Kingdom with temperatures topping 30°C (86°F).

The highest temperature in the UK up until this week was 29.1°C (84.4°F) recorded at Heathrow Airport on 19 April.

The highest temperature in the Anglia region was on the same day when the thermometer reached 28.2°C at Santon Downham in Suffolk

Farmers are already beginning to warm that the dry and arid conditions could hit crops and lead to lower yields.

Andrew Blenkiron from the Euston estate on the Suffolk-Norfolk border said some wheat on its lighter sandy soil had already been dead for a week.

Highest temperatures in the Anglia region on Monday 25 June 2018

• 29.2°C in Cavendish, Suffolk

• 28.6°C in Santon Downham, Suffolk

• 28.2°C in Writtle, Essex

• 28.1°C in Higham near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

• 27.8°C in Woburn, Bedfordshire

• 27.7°C in Stowe, Buckinghamshire

• 27.7°C in Wattisham, Suffolk

• 27.6°C in Andrewsfield near Braintree, Essex

• 27.5°C in Harpenden, Hertfordshire

• 27.4°C in Cambridge

• 27.3°C in Bedford

• 27.2°C in Tibenham, Norfolk

• 27.2°C in Wittering, Cambridgeshire

• 27.0°C in Northampton

• 26.9°C in Monks Wood near Sawtry, Cambridgeshire

• 25.9°C in Charsfield, Suffolk

• 25.7°C in Marham, Norfolk

• 24.8°C in Shoeburyness, Essex

• 23.4°C in Holbeach, Lincolnshire

• 19.6°C in Weybourne, Norfolk

• 19.0°C in Cromer, Norfolk