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Hyde Park in London: Prolonged drought and heat
Photo: ANDY RAIN/EPA
This article will be continuously updated.
The British government declares a drought emergency for large parts of the country
2:13 p.m .:
The British government has declared a drought emergency due to persistent drought.
As the Ministry of the Environment announced in London, areas in the south-west, south, middle and east of England are affected.
Private households and companies were asked to check their water consumption.
The drought emergency does not automatically lead to measures, but allows environmental authorities and water suppliers to take further steps.
The body responsible for the classification, the National Drought Group, emphasized that the water supply was secured.
Shortly before that, a garden hose and lawn sprinkler ban had come into force in south-east England.
As the water supplier South East Water announced, the private use of garden hoses or similar devices in all households that are supplied by the company is prohibited until further notice.
This applies, among other things, to watering plants, washing cars and other privately used vehicles, and filling swimming pools and paddling pools.
According to the BBC, around 1.4 million households in the counties of Kent and Sussex are affected by the ban that came into force on Friday.
Bans on the use of garden hoses have also been announced in other parts of the country.
Similar restrictions are to come into force in the county of Yorkshire and in London in the coming weeks.
The British Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning for large parts of England and Wales on Thursday.
The forest fire in the Harz Mountains is under control - at least for the time being
1:58 p.m .:
The forest fire in the Harz National Park between Schierke and the Brocken is spatially under control for the time being – but that could change again during the day.
"We see the tendency that today with rising temperatures and freshening winds, the spread will continue faster again," warns operations manager Marco Söchting.
Difficult slopes and rugged terrain are extremely challenging for the firefighters, said the district fire chief of the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt, Kai-Uwe Lohse.
In addition, tall deadwood trees posed an acute danger.
Operations manager Söchting added: "There are areas that we cannot walk into." The risk of the burning treetops breaking off the trees is too great in places.
The number of emergency services is currently growing to 300, said Lohse late in the morning.
If you count the firefighters who have been replaced, around 500 people have been involved in the extinguishing work so far.
One has the situation of the forest fire in Saxony in mind, said District Administrator Thomas Balcerowski (CDU).
A similar "flaming inferno" as there must be prevented in the next few days.
Fires in France continue to rage: German reinforcements on site
1:54 p.m .:
On the southern French Atlantic coast, the authorities fear that flames will flare up again.
At high temperatures and low humidity, the risk of this is very high, the responsible authority said.
The fire near Saint-Magne south of Bordeaux only spread a little during the night.
"That's the good news of the night," said a government spokesman.
About 1,100 firefighters battled the blaze on Friday.
They received support from 65 firefighters from Germany.
Other countries also sent aid to France.
Climate protest at the planned LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven
1.45 p.m .:
Several hundred climate activists protested in Wilhelmshaven against the planned import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The "Ende Gelände" group announced that the construction site had been occupied on Friday morning.
This is an act of civil disobedience »against the planned expansion of fossil gas infrastructure«.
The activists sat on construction vehicles and building materials, manned a crane and hung up banners.
According to the police, there were around 300 participants at two locations: the Jade-Weser-Port port and Hooksiel, where a pipeline is to be built to connect to the gas transmission network.
The demonstration was not registered.
The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior announced that the activists were participants in a climate protest camp in Hamburg from the left spectrum, who set off in several buses in the morning.
A demonstration was originally registered in Stade, where an LNG terminal is also to be built, but the buses then went to Wilhelmshaven.
The police are still in action with sufficient forces.
In the afternoon, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil and Energy Minister Olaf Lies, in their function as SPD state leaders, want to visit the LNG construction site together with the CEO of the energy company Uniper, Klaus-Dieter Maubach.
Habeck only wants to heat public buildings to 19 degrees
1:43 p.m .:
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has announced regulations for saving energy.
Among other things, public buildings should only be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees, the minister explained in an interview with the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and explained: "We will issue regulations about the Energy Security Act."
In addition, buildings and monuments should no longer be illuminated at night and advertising systems should not be illuminated, according to Habeck.
"More savings are also needed in the world of work." This is currently being discussed with the Ministry of Labor and the social partners.
Cause of fish kills still unclear - possibly several reasons
1:34 p.m .:
The cause of the fish deaths on the Oder is still unclear.
'Mercury has been found, that's right.
But at the moment we cannot say that mercury is responsible for the death of the fish," said Brandenburg Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens).
"We don't know at the moment what they really died from." Vogel said that a combination of several factors such as heat, low water supply and toxins is possible.
"It is quite possible that these are substances that have been introduced into the Oder for a long time, but normally do not pose a problem at all at mean water levels." Currently, however, there are historically low water levels on the Oder.
Such small amounts of water meant that every substance in the water was present in a higher concentration, according to the Environment Minister.
Therefore, it could well be that substances that are normally not so serious in the dosage are now dangerous due to the increased dose.
The District Administrator for the Uckermark district, Karina Dörk, said that the area along the Oder will be flown over with drones to see how the fish kill is developing.
A mission to collect the dead fish is planned for this Saturday.
Weekend stays hot and dry, 28 to 34 degrees
1:25 p.m .:
The weather in Germany remains mostly sunny and dry over the weekend.
Saturday brings lots of sun, few clouds and no precipitation.
This was announced by the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach.
At best, there could be occasional rain or thunderstorms in the south-east of Germany.
With temperatures between 28 and 34 degrees, no cooling is to be expected.
According to the DWD, the weather will continue on Sunday mostly sunny and dry and with similar temperatures.
A change in the weather is imminent on Monday: the weather service expects showers and sometimes heavy thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail and storms.
This applies to all parts of the country.
In the north-east it will still be hot with maximum values between 28 and 33 degrees, the rest of Germany can expect 25 to 30 degrees.
Pasture too dry: production of traditional cheese stopped in France
1.15 p.m .:
The persistent drought in the Auvergne in France leads to a production stop of a protected type of cheese.
The production of Salers cheese, which is named after the municipality of the same name, has been discontinued, broadcaster France 3 reported. For the raw milk cheese, it is mandatory that the milk-supplying cows are fed 75 percent fresh grass.
However, since the pastures have completely dried up, this is no longer possible.
Most of the 78 regional producers are now making Cantal cheese from their milk.
There are less strict rules for this variety, but the cheese also brings in less money.
mgo/AFP/dpa/Reuters