Wet autumn ends English drought

All of England is now formerly out of drought. The affected parts of Devon and Cornwall entered ‘recovering’ status on 2 October and all catchments in East Anglia moved to "normal" status from 20 November.

According to last week’s meeting of the National Drought Group, as of 30 November, reservoir stocks in England were at 88% of total capacity, and most rivers, reservoirs and groundwater are above where we would expect them for this time of year.

This follows the third wettest English Autumn this century, which has helped to improve the water resources outlook, though has also brought flooding for some areas.

Despite the improved position, the National Drought Group continued to prepare for future droughts in light of increasingly volatile weather patterns due to climate change.