in the three months tojune with forecasters warning recession is still likely later in the year. 7,000 extra hospital beds this winter, including in pop up sites the nhs in england unveils its plans to cope with expected pressures. more chaos for rail passengers train drivers prepare to strike tomorrow on nine lines across the country. # up in space, man. and, the shortlist is announced for hosting next year s eurovision song contest seven uk cities are in the running. and coming up on the bbc news channel: britain s rowers overcome problems in the quad sculls at the european championships to reach the medalfinal in munich. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at 0ne. a drought has been declared in parts of england, after the driestjuly on record in some areas of the country. it means water companies can announce stricter measures to conserve supplies, and it comes as yorkshire water became the latest to announce a hosepipe ban, in the wake of low rainfall and h
7,000 extra hospital beds this winter including in pop up sites the nhs in england unveils its plans to cope with expected pressures. and the shortlist is announced for hosting next year s eurovision song contest seven uk cities are in the running. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news channel. a drought has been declared across more than half of england, after the driestjuly on record in some areas of the country. it means water companies can impose stricter measures over how we use water at home and at work. a drought is defined by a lack of water due to extreme weather that has been built up over time. the four stages are normal, prolonged dry weather, drought and severe drought. eight areas have been moved to the third stage, including devon and cornwall, solent and south downs, kent and south london, herts and north london. as well as east anglia, thames, lincolnshire and northamptonshire, east midlands. in the wake of low rainfall and high temperatures, water c
the river rhine has become. the river levels have dropped so far here that they have exposed an old stone footbridge. you can see people picking their way across it to the island which was previously now only accessible by boat. a lot of those people enjoying the novelty of the new landscape but there is serious concern here. that s because this is one of europe s great working rivers. goods go up and down this rivers. goods go up and down this river and we have seen barges here today, just a few making their way slowly through the remaining water channel that is left there, to the factories, the industrial complexes, fetching and carrying raw materials and manufactured products. the levels are now so low that some of those barges simply cannot get through. the people who run the barges are telling us they having to lighten the cargo in order to make sure vessels sit high up in the water. they are keeping a close eye on the forecast which is that levels will drop further. if that happe
this is bbc news. i m martine croxall. the headlines at two. millions of people face restrictions on their water use as a drought is officially declared across parts of england. the declaration covers parts of the south west, southern and central england, and the east of england after prolonged dry weather. this is an exceptional summer and we could all think about how we use our water. in fact, could all think about how we use our water. infact, even could all think about how we use our water. in fact, even think about where it comes from. when you have a shower, that water is coming from the environment, from rivers like here. there s extreme heat elsewhere in europe, too firefighters are tackling huge blazes in france, and rivers are drying up in germany. the uk s economy shrank between april and june according to official estimates.
this is the riverbed of the mighty rhine. just take a look at it. we should be under water right now. instead, you can see just how dry and arid this particular part of the upper rhine has become. in fact, the river levels have dropped so far here that they have exposed an old stone footbridge. you can see people picking their way across it to the island in the river, which was previous to now only accessible by boat. a lot of those people, i think, rather enjoying the novelty of the new landscape, but there is serious concern here. that s because this is one of europe s great working rivers. goods go up and down this river, and we have seen barges here today. just a few of them making their way very slowly through the remaining water channel that s left there. to the factories, the industrial complexes fetching and carrying raw materials and manufactured products. the levels are now so low that some of those barges simply can t get through.