The National Drought Group has warned that the current drought is far from over despite the recent rain.
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.
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.
A lack of rainfall has impacted harvests, navigation, and seen restrictions in the form of several hosepipe bans.
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.
The dry weather has seen an early harvest season with generally lower and poorer quality crop yields.
Reservoirs fell by 1.4% last week. They 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.
