The National Drought Group (NDG) is warning that the current drought is far from over and is expected to continue through autumn - despite the recent rain.

Photo: low water level at Wessenden Head reservoir, Yorkshire

The NDG includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers’ Union, Canal & River Trust, anglers, and conservation experts.

The warning follows yesterday’s meeting of the NDG which heard some key impacts about the ongoing drought situation. Five areas remain in drought, with more areas likely to declare drought status within the next few weeks, as groundwater and reservoir levels across England continue to recede.

This summer declared the hottest since records began in 1884

Even with the wet weather at the end of the month, August’s rainfall was just 42% of its long-term average and the summer has been declared the hottest since records began in 1884.

The lack of rainfall has impacted harvests, navigation, and seen restrictions in the form of several hosepipe bans. The dry weather has seen an early harvest season with generally lower and poorer quality crop yields.

It also has a significant impact on the breeding pattern of some animals, as well as peatlands drying out and at least 3,000 hectares of SSSI land (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) destroyed by wildfire.

Approximately 20% of the Canal & River Trust network is closed because of low water levels, concentrated mainly but not exclusively across northern and central England. This compares with 15% in 2022. Around 400 miles of the network is affected.

Some reservoirs that feed several canals run by the Canal & River Trust, including sections of the Grand Union, Leeds & Liverpool, Peak Forest, Oxford and Macclesfield are critically low. Peak Forest & Macclesfield group holdings are just 11.1% full.

Reservoirs fell by 1.4% last week and are now 56.1% full on average across England - the average for this time of year is 82.8%. The lowest reservoirs are the Pennines group (29%), Yorkshire stocks (30.3%) and Ardingly (34.1%)

A drought is only over when groundwater, river and reservoir levels are fully replenished, and experts have warned it will take a wet autumn and winter to reverse the impacts of seven continuous months of below average rainfall. This means flooding during a drought is possible, including flash floods as dry soils struggle to soak up intense downpours.

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

“While we have seen some recent rain, it is nowhere near enough to reverse the impact of the last seven months, which have been the driest since 1976.

“The environment bears the brunt of this lack of rainfall, and this summer we have seen widespread impacts from low river levels, fish needing to be rescued, and wildfires.

“We are calling on everyone to continue to take simple steps to reduce their water use and are grateful to people for following the restrictions imposed by water companies. By saving water, we all leave more water in the environment.”

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Will Lang, commented:

“The top five warmest UK summers on record have all occurred since 2000, with summer 2025 now officially the hottest.

“High pressure dominated throughout the season, bringing persistent warmth, below-average rainfall, and drought conditions for many areas.

“Looking ahead, while the longer-range forecast suggests a trend towards wetter-than-average conditions, rainfall is expected to vary significantly across regions, with more rain expected to western and northern parts of the UK, while eastern and southern areas may remain drier.

“Importantly, even with the overall signal for wetter weather, and the chance for flooding in some places, this does not guarantee that current drought conditions will ease consistently across the country.”

Drought conditions and the potential for flooding can occur at the same time in different parts of the UK, such is the nature of our climate.

The current water shortfall situation in England has been defined as a ‘nationally significant incident’ based on the number of areas affected and the impacts being seen in the environment.

The Environment Agency said it is continuing to work with Government, including Defra and the Cabinet Office, on the drought response.

It is also conducting more compliance checks on businesses who abstract water from the environment, has increased monitoring of water levels, and continues to work with farmers on water conservation.

The regulator is actively engaging with water companies on requests for drought permits and drought orders – meaning water is diverted from the environment to secure public supplies. The meeting also heard updates from the water companies and steps they are taking to conserve supplies.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said:

“This year’s weather has been severe for our environment, and we are working with the National Drought Group to mitigate the impacts of this.

“Water companies must continue to follow their drought plans to secure water supplies - I will hold them to account if they don’t.

“We face a growing water shortage in the next decade and are pushing ahead with urgent reforms under our Plan for Change, including nine new reservoirs to help secure supplies.”