A drought is expected to be declared in more parts of England on Monday, joining half of the country and the whole of Wales.
The National Drought Group – made up of regulators, government officials, water companies and agricultural bodies – will meet on Monday afternoon to assess the situation across England.
Almost all of southern England is already officially in drought after an exceptionally hot and dry summer, with heatwave conditions set to return for many this week.
Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said the number of people under a hosepipe ban is likely to increase from the 23 million already experiencing restrictions.
She told Radio 4’s Today programme the country had experienced an “exceptional, unprecedented summer”, which was becoming the “new norm”.
Bentley predicted north-west England, which is already classed as being under a less severe “prolonged dry weather” status, would be among those areas where drought could be declared on Monday.
The areas already officially in drought are East Anglia, Hertfordshire, London, Thames Valley, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Devon, Cornwall, the West Midlands and Wessex (Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and south Gloucestershire).