This is the Guardian.

Today, half of England is officially in a drought,

but the culprit isn't just climate change.

If you're listening to this somewhere in England on Tuesday,

you might be hearing thunderstorms outside,

watching rain streak down the windows.

And thinking that's more like it,

the kind of English weather we're used to.

But don't be fooled.

On Friday, over half the country was officially classified as in a drought.

Sadly, this week's thunderstorms won't undo the damage

from months of hot weather and very, very little rain.

You can probably guess that climate change has made these kinds of droughts much more likely,

and much more severe when they happen.

But it isn't the only thing making England so vulnerable to extreme heat.

This year's weather might be the beginning of a new, much drier country.

One that needs to rethink its entire relationship with water.

From the Guardian, I'm Michael Safi.

Today in focus, how to prepare England for an era of droughts.

Helena Horton, you're an environment reporter with the Guardian.

And on Friday, the National Drought Group declared a drought in eight areas of England.

When we talk about a drought, what do we mean? What's the threshold?

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