National Drought Group places East and West Midlands in drought, and Lincolnshire and Northants, East Anglia, and Thames area into prolonged dry weather status

As water levels continue to fall, the East Midlands is one of the latest regions of the country to be officially moved into drought after June declared the hottest on record.

Dry weather is continuing to impact water resources across England, with Yorkshire and the north west of England moved into drought over the last few weeks.

And now following a meeting today (Tuesday) of the National Drought Group — which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, farmers, CRT, angling groups and conservation experts — further areas, including the East and West Midlands, are now officially in drought.

Lincolnshire and Northants, East Anglia, and Thames area have also moved into prolonged dry weather status.

Across England, rainfall was 20% less than long term average for June, which was also declared as the hottest on record for England, with two heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water.

Reservoir levels continue to fall, with overall storage across England at 75.6% and at 53.8% in Yorkshire necessitating a Temporary Use Ban (TUB).

A hosepipe ban is set to be introduced from Tuesday (July 22) by Thames Water following a period of prolonged dry weather in the area., and the Environment Agency is now urging the public to think about how they use water at home and in the garden, and to comply with any local restrictions.

The NDG is also asking recreational water users, such as anglers, swimmers, and boaters, to remain vigilant and report any environmental issues they see, such as fish in distress.

Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency director for water and National Drought Group chairman, said: “This has been the driest start to the year since 1976, and we need to make sure our water supplies can sustain us through the summer.

“Today I have asked all the partners who make up the national drought group to step up their operational response to manage the drought and use water wisely. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels and working to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment.”

Dr Will Lang, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Although some areas saw rainfall at the start of July, for many the month so far has been fairly dry, continuing a pattern seen through spring and June.

“We’ve now recorded our third heatwave of the summer and following a period of fresher, more unsettled conditions it’s likely to turn warmer and more humid again across many parts of England later this week. There’s also the possibility of heavy, thundery showers for some places too.

“It does look as though we’ll see typical changeable weather during the latter third of July and into early August with a mix of rain, showers. Confidence in details inevitably gets lower, the further ahead we look, but this would be consistent with our seasonal expectations.”